(a) Purchase of commodities

From amounts made available to carry out this chapter, for each of fiscal years 1997 through 2002, the Secretary shall purchase $100,000,000 of a variety of nutritious and useful commodities of the types that the Secretary has the authority to acquire through the Commodity Credit Corporation or under section 612c of this title and distribute the commodities to States for distribution in accordance with section 7515 of this title.

(b) Basis for commodity purchases

In purchasing commodities under subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary shall, to the extent practicable and appropriate, make purchases based on -

(1)

agricultural market conditions;

(2)

preferences and needs of States and distributing agencies; and

(3)

preferences of recipients