[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6608 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6608
To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to establish
a pilot program promoting scratch cooking in school meal programs.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 4, 2022
Mrs. Hayes (for herself, Ms. Brownley, Mrs. McBath, and Mr.
Fitzpatrick) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Education and Labor
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to establish
a pilot program promoting scratch cooking in school meal programs.
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 ``Scratch Cooked Meals for Students
Act''.
SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM FOR GRANTS PROMOTING SCRATCH COOKING IN SCHOOL
MEAL PROGRAMS.
Section 18 of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42
U.S.C. 1769) is amended by inserting before subsection (b) the
following new subsection:
``(a) Scratch Cooking Pilot Program.--
``(1) In general.--
``(A) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after
the date of the enactment of this subsection, the
Secretary shall establish a pilot program to award
competitive grants to school food authorities and local
educational agencies to promote scratch cooking.
``(B) Scratch cooking defined.--In this subsection,
the term `scratch cooking' means the preparation of
food using ingredients that are unprocessed or
minimally processed.
``(2) Grant amounts and duration.--A grant awarded under
this subsection shall be made--
``(A) for a period of 2 school years; and
``(B) in 1 installment in the first school year and
1 installment in the second school year, with each such
installment equal to or less than $100,000.
``(3) Eligible uses.--A grant awarded under this subsection
shall be used by a school food authority or local educational
agency to promote scratch cooking, which may include--
``(A) promoting professional development and
training related to preparing, procuring, advertising,
serving, and creating menus of meals made with scratch
cooking;
``(B) purchasing cafeteria equipment or making
infrastructure modifications necessary for scratch
cooking;
``(C) employee compensation for additional food
preparation necessary for scratch cooking; and
``(D) providing technical assistance, pupil
engagement, and education related to scratch cooking,
such as taste tests, recipe development, and culinary
education.
``(4) Priority.--In evaluating grant applications under
this subsection, the Secretary shall give the highest priority
to school food authorities and local educational agencies
that--
``(A) serve the greatest proportion of students
eligible for free or reduced price lunch under this
Act;
``(B) are--
``(i) self-operated; or
``(ii) provide an assurance to the
Secretary that the school food authority or
local educational agency will be self-operated
on or before the date that is 1 year before the
last day of the grant period; and
``(C) either--
``(i) have employees who are represented by
a collective bargaining agreement or memorandum
of understanding; or
``(ii) provide an assurance to the
Secretary that the school food authority or
local educational agency will, with respect to
the employees of such school food authority or
local educational agency, negotiate a
collective bargaining agreement or memorandum
of understanding on or before the date that is
1 year before the last day of the grant period.
``(5) Technical assistance.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall enter into
an agreement with one or more nonprofit organizations
to establish and carry out a technical assistance and
resource center to provide technical assistance with
respect to carrying out subparagraphs (A) through (C)
of paragraph (3).
``(B) Collaboration requirement.--As soon as
practicable after receiving a grant under this
subsection, a school food authority or local
educational agency shall collaborate with the technical
assistance and resource center established under
subparagraph (A) to--
``(i) conduct a needs assessment to
evaluate equipment needs, equipment
utilization, procurement processes, and
workforce capabilities of the school food
authority or local educational agency; and
``(ii) based on such needs assessment,
establish a strategic plan to carry out the
grant under this subsection.
``(6) Reporting requirements.--Each school food authority
and local educational agency that receives a grant under this
subsection shall report to the Secretary at the end of the
grant period--
``(A) the change, from the beginning of the grant
period, in the overall percentage of the 20 most
expensive procurement items with whole ingredients, raw
ingredients, or both;
``(B) the change, from the beginning of the grant
period, in the overall percentage of procured food
items that are locally procured;
``(C) the change, from the beginning of the grant
period, in the overall percentage of menu items in a 4-
week menu cycle prepared with scratch cooking;
``(D) the change, from the beginning of the grant
period, in the overall percentage of packaging that is
single-serve packaging;
``(E) the change, from the beginning of the grant
period, to overall culinary, fiscal, procurement, and
management operations; and
``(F) the change, from the beginning of the grant
period, in the overall percentage of students who
participate in the school lunch program under this Act.
``(7) Authorization of appropriations.--
``(A) In general.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this subsection $20,000,000
for the first fiscal year beginning after the date of
the enactment of this subsection and for each of the
four subsequent fiscal years.
``(B) Reservations.--Of the amounts made available
under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall reserve--
``(i) not more than 15 percent for purposes
of carrying out paragraph (5), including
administrative expenses; and
``(ii) not more than 5 percent for other
administrative expenses of the Secretary.''.
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