[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2005 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2005
To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to require
alternative options for summer food service program delivery.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 10, 2021
Mr. Boozman (for himself, Mr. Leahy, Mr. McConnell, Mr. Bennet, Mr.
Cornyn, Mr. Brown, Mr. Hoeven, Mrs. Hyde-Smith, Mrs. Fischer, Mr.
Moran, Mr. Blunt, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Grassley, and Mr. Thune) introduced
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee
on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to require
alternative options for summer food service program delivery.
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 ``Hunger-Free Summer for Kids Act of
2021''.
SEC. 2. ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS FOR SUMMER FOOD SERVICE PROGRAM DELIVERY.
Section 13 of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42
U.S.C. 1761) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the following:
``(13) Alternative options for program delivery.--
``(A) Purpose.--The purpose of this paragraph is to
establish the alternative program delivery options
described in subparagraph (B)--
``(i) to provide meals to children that do
not have readily available access to meals
otherwise provided under this section; and
``(ii)(I) to increase program
participation, effectiveness, and efficiency;
``(II) to improve child nutrition; and
``(III) to reduce food insecurity among
children.
``(B) Alternative options.--The Secretary shall
establish the following 2 alternative options for
program delivery:
``(i) Provision of an electronic benefit
transfer card (referred to in this paragraph as
an `EBT card') in accordance with subparagraph
(C).
``(ii) Off-site consumption in accordance
with subparagraph (D).
``(C) EBT card.--
``(i) In general.--Beginning not later than
summer 2023, the Secretary shall make available
an option to States to provide program meals
under this section through the issuance of EBT
cards to the households of eligible children,
determined in accordance with clause (iv), for
the benefit of those eligible children.
``(ii) Amount.--
``(I) In general.--Subject to
subclause (III), the value of an EBT
card provided under this subparagraph
shall be $30 per eligible child per
month.
``(II) Annual limitation.--No
household of an eligible child shall
receive benefits under this
subparagraph for more than 3 months in
a summer period.
``(III) Adjustment.--On January 1
of each year, the Secretary shall
adjust the values described in
subclauses (I) and (II) by the same
percentage as the adjustment made under
subsection (b)(1)(B).
``(iii) Use of benefits.--
``(I) In general.--An EBT card
issued under this subparagraph may be
used only for the purchase of food from
retail stores approved for
participation in the supplemental
nutrition assistance program
established under the Food and
Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et
seq.).
``(II) Benefit redemption.--A
retail store shall redeem EBT card
benefits under this subparagraph in the
same manner that benefits are redeemed
under the supplemental nutrition
assistance program described in
subclause (I).
``(III) Timing.--An EBT card issued
under this subparagraph may be used by
a household for the benefit of an
eligible child only when school is out
of session for the summer period, as
defined by the Secretary.
``(iv) Eligible children.--In administering
this subparagraph, the Secretary shall ensure
that an EBT card--
``(I) is only issued to a household
for the benefit of a child in that
household--
``(aa) who lives or attends
school--
``(AA) in a rural
area, as determined by
the Secretary; or
``(BB) outside an
area in which poor
economic conditions
exist;
``(bb) who has been
determined to be eligible for a
free or reduced price lunch
under this Act and a free or
reduced price breakfast under
section 4 of the Child
Nutrition Act of 1966 (42
U.S.C. 1773); and
``(cc) in accordance with,
with respect to the State in
which the child resides--
``(AA) a State
agency plan approved by
the Secretary pursuant
to section 1101(b) of
the Families First
Coronavirus Response
Act (7 U.S.C. 2011
note; Public Law 116-
127); or
``(BB) an
application process
developed by the State;
and
``(II) is not issued to a household
for the benefit of a child living in an
area in which a congregate open feeding
site is operating, to prevent
duplication in benefits.
``(D) Off-site consumption.--
``(i) In general.--Beginning not later than
summer 2023, the Secretary shall make available
an option to States to provide program meals
under this section for off-site consumption.
``(ii) Availability.--In administering this
subparagraph, the Secretary shall ensure that
off-site consumption is only available to a
child if--
``(I) the child is determined to be
eligible for a free or reduced price
lunch under this Act and a free or
reduced price breakfast under section 4
of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42
U.S.C. 1773); and
``(II) not fewer than 1 of the
conditions described in clause (iii) is
present.
``(iii) Conditions.--The conditions
referred to in clause (ii)(II) are the
following:
``(I) The child lives or attends
school in a rural area, as determined
by the Secretary.
``(II) The child lives or attends
school outside an area in which poor
economic conditions exist.
``(III) The program is available to
the child at a congregate feeding site
but--
``(aa) the site is closed
due to extreme weather
conditions;
``(bb) violence or other
public safety concerns in the
area prevent the child from
traveling safely to the site;
``(cc) the site is open not
more than 4 days a week; or
``(dd) the site provides
only 1 meal per day.
``(iv) Administration.--In administering
this subparagraph, the Secretary shall ensure
that--
``(I) any meal served through off-
site consumption--
``(aa) meets all applicable
State and local health, safety,
and sanitation standards; and
``(bb) meets the
requirements under subsection
(f)(1);
``(II) each State gives priority to
a child living in an area in which a
congregate open feeding site is not
reasonably accessible, as determined by
the Secretary;
``(III) the number of reimbursable
meals served to each child in a single
meal service does not exceed the total
number of meals allowed for
reimbursement under the program during
a 10-day period; and
``(IV) meals may be provided by
entities that participated in a summer
meals demonstration project carried out
under section 749(g) of the
Agriculture, Rural Development, Food
and Drug Administration, and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010
(Public Law 111-80; 123 Stat. 2132), on
the same terms and conditions as
provided under the demonstration
project.
``(E) Scope.--Under this paragraph, a State--
``(i) may implement an alternative option
described in subparagraph (B) in any area
described in subitem (AA) or (BB) of
subparagraph (C)(iv)(I)(aa) in the State; but
``(ii) shall not simultaneously implement
both alternative options described in
subparagraph (B) in the same area in the State.
``(F) Regulations.--Not later than October 1, 2022,
the Secretary shall promulgate regulations, with an
opportunity for notice and comment--
``(i) to ensure the integrity of the
alternative options for program delivery
described in subparagraph (B); and
``(ii) to prevent duplication in benefits
received under this paragraph.''; and
(2) in subsection (n)--
(A) by striking ``and (6)'' and inserting ``(6)'';
and
(B) by striking the period at the end and inserting
``; and (7) the plans of the State for using the
alternative options for program delivery described in
subsection (a)(13), if applicable.''.
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