The Feeding Our Rural Kids (FORK) Act of 2026 establishes a grant program to help service institutions acquire and maintain vehicles for delivering summer meals to children in underserved rural areas.
Jeff Merkley
Senator
OR
The Feeding Our Rural Kids (FORK) Act of 2026 establishes a pilot grant program to help service institutions purchase or retrofit vehicles for the delivery of summer meals to children in rural and economically disadvantaged areas. By providing up to $100,000 per grant, this initiative aims to improve food access for students who face barriers to traditional meal sites. The program includes federal oversight and technical support to ensure effective distribution and reporting over its three-year authorization period.
FORK Act Proposes $1 Million Annual Fund to Put Summer Meal Delivery on Wheels for Rural Kids
When school lets out for the summer, the safety net of daily cafeteria meals often disappears for kids in rural communities. The Feeding Our Rural Kids (FORK) Act of 2026 aims to bridge that gap by launching a pilot program specifically designed to fund mobile meal delivery. Under Section 2, the Department of Agriculture would offer grants of up to $100,000 to help local organizations—like schools or nonprofits—buy, fix up, or retrofit vehicles to bring food directly to kids who can't easily get to a central lunch site. The program is slated to kick off the first summer at least 180 days after the bill is signed, with $1 million authorized annually from 2027 through 2029.
Bringing the Cafeteria to the Curb
In many rural towns, the nearest summer meal site might be miles away, making it nearly impossible for parents working long shifts or families without reliable transportation to get their kids fed. The FORK Act addresses this by focusing on 'noncongregate' meals—basically, food that can be dropped off rather than eaten in a group setting. To make sure the money goes where it's needed most, the bill mandates that the Secretary of Agriculture prioritize areas with poor economic conditions, regions outside major city hubs (defined as core-based statistical areas), and communities serving a high proportion of students from socially disadvantaged backgrounds. For a local food bank in a remote county, this could mean the difference between a broken-down van and a reliable refrigerated truck that reaches twenty extra families a day.
Accountability and the Fine Print
While the bill provides a significant boost for rural infrastructure, it comes with specific guardrails to ensure the money actually reaches the kids. Grantees are limited to spending no more than 10 percent of their funds on administrative paperwork, keeping the focus on the vehicles and the food. Each grant lasts for one year, and organizations have to report back on exactly how many children they served and which sites benefited. This isn't just a 'set it and forget it' fund; the Secretary is required to provide technical assistance to help these small organizations succeed and must report the program’s overall impact to Congress within four years. This data-driven approach aims to prove whether mobile delivery is a viable long-term solution for rural hunger before the pilot's funding expires in 2029.