HB 2463 Washington House · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Supporting Washington farmers feeding families.

HB 2463 creates two new grant programs to connect Washington farmers with hunger relief organizations. It establishes a "farm donation grant program" that provides funds to nonprofits to purchase surplus farm products (like produce, dairy, and protein) directly from Washington growers, compensating farmers for harvest and logistical costs. A second "farm-to-food pantry grant program" supports nonprofits in building direct contracts between farmers, tribes, and food hubs to supply food pantries. The bill prioritizes organizations with at least five years of experience and aims to ensure equitable access for minority, veteran, women, and tribal farmers. The law requires grant recipients to report results to the state department and is known as the "Washington Farmers Feeding Families Act."
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jan 14, 2026 Last action Feb 4, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Bill Substitute Bill · 6 edits
MODERATE
The bill was renumbered and its title updated to reflect a 'Substitute' version. The primary policy change is the expansion of the program's scope to include seafood, tribes, and food hubs alongside traditional farmers. Additionally, the eligibility criteria for grant recipients were slightly relaxed by removing the requirement that organizations must have 'solely' functioned for food coordination.
Scope change
The program now explicitly includes seafood, federally recognized Indian tribes, and food hubs as eligible sources for direct purchasing, broadening the definition of 'farmers' to 'farmers, producers, tribes, and food hubs.'
ELIGIBILITY

Removed the strict requirement that recipient organizations must 'solely' function for food coordination, allowing those with broader missions to qualify.

SCOPE

Expanded the program to allow purchasing of seafood in addition to agricultural products.

Added 'tribes' and 'food hubs' as eligible entities for direct purchasing contracts.

FISCAL

Authorized the department to provide up to 25 percent of total grant funding upfront when the agreement is executed.

REQUIREMENT

Added a new requirement for the department to adopt rules to implement the section.

TECHNICAL

Updated bill metadata including bill number, sponsor attribution, and reading dates.

Floor votes

How they voted

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Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
5
Key actions
2
Committee
3
Feb 4, 2026
Committee
Referred to Appropriations.
lower
Feb 4, 2026
Lower · Passed
Executive action taken in the House Committee on Agriculture & Natural Resources at 8:00 AM.
lower
Jan 20, 2026
Lower · Passed
Public hearing in the House Committee on Agriculture & Natural Resources at 10:30 AM.
lower
1 primary · 9 co-sponsors

Sponsors