Healthy Commissaries, Healthy Families Act

Tom Barrett

Republican · MI · Representative

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

No cosponsors on record. Bills can pass without cosponsors — this often means the sponsor introduced the bill alone, either because it's a messaging bill, a chairman's mark, or simply early in the legislative cycle.

Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.

2026-07-27

Source: Congress.gov

The legislation would require military commissaries—stores where service members and their families shop—to stock and promote healthier food options like fresh produce, whole grains, and lean proteins. This would affect millions of military personnel, retirees, and their dependents who use these stores, potentially improving their nutrition and reducing diet-related health problems. The bill also includes other provisions related to military food services and nutrition programs.

AI-assisted summary generated from the official bill metadata (title, subjects, actions) sourced from Congress.gov. Cached and reviewed. Always verify against the official text linked below.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 9950 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 9950 To provide healthy food options in military commissaries, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES July 27, 2026 Mr. Barrett introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To provide healthy food options in military commissaries, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Healthy Commissaries, Healthy Families Act''. SEC. 2. PROGRAM TO PROVIDE HEALTHY FOODS TO COMMISSARIES. (a) Program Required.--The Director of the Defense Commissary Agency shall carry out a program to increase the availability, visibility, affordability, and promotion of healthy foods at commissaries located in the United States in accordance with this section. (b) Director of Healthy Foods.--The Director of the Defense Commissary Agency shall appoint an officer or employee of the Defense Commissary Agency to serve as the Director of Healthy Foods for commissaries. (c) Plan.-- (1) Requirement.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Agriculture, shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a plan to improve the availability of healthy foods at commissaries located in the United States. Such plan shall include-- (A) a strategy and timeline for the availability of healthy foods at commissaries; (B) an identification of actions that will be taken to incorporate the use of local farmers and farmers markets in the provision of healthy foods to commissaries; (C) an identification of actions and resources necessary to accomplish the items described in paragraphs (1) through (6) of subsection (d); and (D) any recommendations of the Secretary for administrative or legislative action to improve the availability of healthy foods at commissaries and accomplish the items described in paragraphs (1) through (6) of subsection (d). (2) Briefing.--Not later than 30 days after the date of the submission of the plan required by paragraph (1), the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Secretary of Agriculture shall provide a briefing on such plan to the appropriate congressional committees. (d) Interagency Cooperation.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the submission of the plan required by subsection (c)(1), the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Secretary of Agriculture shall jointly establish procedures to improve healthy food options at commissaries, including procedures to-- (1) coordinate nutrition research; (2) share best practices for procuring healthy foods and related items; (3) increase the availability of healthy foods at commissaries; (4) identify farmers, farmers markets, and other community entities located near commissaries that can assist in making healthy foods available at commissaries; (5) promote nutrition education and information for military families; and (6) share relevant data among the Department of Defense, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Agriculture. (e) Community Outreach.--The Director of Healthy Foods, in consultation with designees of the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Agriculture, shall conduct outreach to agricultural producers, farmers markets, and farmers within the local area of a commissary to identify opportunities to increase participation by such producers, farmers markets, and farmers in providing healthy foods at commissaries. (f) Public Resources.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the submission of the plan required by subsection (c)(1),…

the Director of the Defense Commissary Agency shall make publicly available on the website of the Defense Commissary Agency resources relating to healthy foods specific to each commissary location, including identification of farms, farmers markets, and other healthy food resources available near each such location. (g) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the submission of the plan required by subsection (c)(1), the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Agriculture, shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the implementation of this section, including-- (1) the implementation such plan; (2) outreach conducted under subsection (e); (3) the availability of healthy foods at commissaries, any sales trends or consumer demands related to such availability, the cost of making such healthy foods available, any challenges in procuring such healthy foods, and an estimate of the satisfaction of military families with such healthy foods; and (4) any recommendations of the Secretary of Defense for administrative or legislative action with respect to the implementation of such plan. (h) Definitions.--In this section: (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means-- (A) the Committees on Armed Services of the House of Representatives and the Senate; (B) the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate; and (C) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate. (2) Healthy food.--The term ``healthy food'' means food consistent with the most recent dietary guidelines published in accordance with section 301(a) of the National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5341(a)). (i) Termination.--The requirements of this section shall terminate on December 31, 2030. <all>

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