118 HR 4812 IH: Food for Thought Act of 2023
U.S. House of Representatives
2023-07-20
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EN
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I
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4812
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 20, 2023
Mr. Schiff (for himself, Ms. Barragán, Mr. Bowman, Ms. Bush, Mr. Cárdenas, Mr. Carson, Ms. Clarke of New York, Ms. Dean of Pennsylvania, Mr. DeSaulnier, Ms. Escobar, Mr. Evans, Mrs. Hayes, Mr. Huffman, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Meng, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Mr. Nadler, Ms. Norton, Mr. Panetta, Mr. Payne, Ms. Porter, Mr. Sablan, Ms. Sánchez, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. Sewell, Ms. Stansbury, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Ms. Titus, Ms. Velázquez, Mrs. Watson Coleman, and Ms. Wilson of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce
A BILL
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of Education to make grants to institutions of higher education to provide free meals to low-income students through existing on-campus meal programs, and for other purposes.
1.

Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Food for Thought Act of 2023”.
2.

Free meals for low-income college students
Part A of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) is amended by inserting after subpart 7 the following:
“8

Meals for low-Income students
420A.

Free meals for low-income students
(a)

Authorization
From amounts made available under subsection (j), the Secretary is authorized to award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities to provide free meals to low-income students through on-campus meal programs.
(b)

Applications
(1)

In general
An eligible entity desiring to receive an award under subsection (a) shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require. Such application shall include—
(A)
a plan for identifying eligible students and conducting outreach; and
(B)
an assurance that the eligible entity will—
(i)
conduct outreach to students with respect to the grant program under this section, encourage student participation in such program, and inform students of—
(I)
their potential eligibility for participation in other Federal, State, and local benefit and support programs, including means-tested Federal benefits programs such as SNAP; and
(II)
the processes for obtaining more information, confirming eligibility, and accessing benefits under such programs;
(ii)
evaluate institutional policies relating to the purchase of on-campus meal plans and whether such policies create barriers to enrollment and persistence for low-income students;
(iii)
identify ways to mitigate any institutional policies that are found, through the evaluation described in clause (ii), to create barriers described in such clause; and
(iv)
in the case of an eligible entity that is a consortia of eligible institutions of higher education that includes eligible institutions that do not have on-campus meal programs, provide an explanation with respect to how the eligible entity will ensure that low-income students attending such institutions will be able to easily access free meals provided under this section.
(2)

Priority
In awarding grants under this section, the Secretary shall give priority to—
(A)
an eligible entity that is an eligible institution of higher education that is—
(i)
a community college;
(ii)
a minority-serving institution described in section 371(a); or
(iii)
located in an area served by a local educational agency that is eligible for special assistance payments under section 11(a)(1) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1759a(a)(1)); and
(B)
an eligible entity that is a consortia of eligible institutions of higher education, in which at least 50 percent of such institutions meet at least 1 of the requirements under clauses (i) through (iii) of subparagraph (A).
(c)

Mandatory activities
(1)

In general
An eligible entity that receives a grant under this section shall use such grant funds to provide, through on-campus meal programs, not fewer than 1, and not more than 10, free meals per week to each low-income student selected by such entity to participate in the program under this section.
(2)

Priority
In selecting low-income students to participate in the program under this section, an eligible entity shall give priority to—
(A)
students with the greatest financial need; and
(B)
students who indicate that they are experiencing food insecurity, housing insecurity, homelessness, or other insecurity with respect to basic needs.
(d)

Permissible activities
In addition to the mandatory activities in subsection (c), an eligible entity that receives a grant under this section may use not more than 10 percent of such grant funds to—
(1)
facilitate the enrollment of on-campus vendors as authorized retailers in SNAP;
(2)
support the operation of an on-campus food pantry; and
(3)
purchase food infrastructure equipment, including microwaves, refrigerators, and other such equipment determined by the Secretary to be necessary.
(e)

Administrative costs
Not more than 5 percent of the grant funds provided to an eligible entity under this section for any fiscal year may be used for administrative purposes.
(f)

Grant period
Grants awarded to eligible entities under this section shall be for a period of 5 years.
(g)

Campus meal program
Eligible entities receiving grants under this section may contract with third-party food service vendors to provide on-campus meals.
(h)

Reports
(1)

Recipient reports
(A)

In general
At the end of the 5-year grant period, an eligible entity that receives a grant under this section shall submit to the Secretary a report on—
(i)
how such entity used the grant funds, including the shares of such funds used for each of the activities described in subsections (c), (d)(1), and (d)(2); and
(ii)
the success rates of students who participated in the grant program under this section (using benchmarks such as persistence, coursework completion, transfer, and completion rates).
(B)

Disaggregation
The information reported in subparagraph (A)(ii) shall be disaggregated, where possible, by—
(i)
race;
(ii)
ethnicity;
(iii)
Pell recipient status;
(iv)
income;
(v)
gender; and
(vi)
age.
(2)

Secretary report
(A)

In general
Not later than 1 year after the Secretary receives the reports required under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall submit a report to Congress on the overall impact of the program under this section.
(B)

Disaggregation
The information described in subparagraph (A) shall be disaggregated, where possible, by—
(i)
sectors and types of institutions;
(ii)
whether an institution is a minority-serving institution described in section 371(a); and
(iii)
whether an institution has an open admissions policy.
(i)

Sense of congress
It is the sense of Congress that an eligible entity awarded a grant under this section should, to the extent practicable—
(1)
ensure meals served pursuant to a grant under this section are consistent with the nutritional requirements and goals of the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans published under section 301 of the National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5341);
(2)
ensure access to vegetarian meals, vegan meals, culturally and religiously appropriate meals, and meals that accommodate common food allergies;
(3)
build and encourage the use of on-campus food pantries;
(4)
encourage on-campus vendors to increase the use of climate-friendly options; and
(5)
buy products to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions associated with providing free meals to students and purchasing food infrastructure equipment.
(j)

Authorization of appropriations
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2023 and each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.
(k)

Definitions
In this section:
(1)

Community college
The term “community college” means a public institution of higher education at which the highest degree that is predominantly awarded to students is an associate’s degree, including 2-year Tribal Colleges or Universities under section 316 and public 2-year institutions of higher education operated by a State.
(2)

Eligible entity
The term “eligible entity” means—
(A)
an eligible institution of higher education that has an on-campus meal program that is provided through an institutionally owned or operated food service or one or more third-party food service vendors; or
(B)
a consortia of eligible institutions of higher education, of which at least one has an on-campus meal program that is provided through an institutionally owned or operated food service or one or more third-party food service vendors, provided that such an eligible institution with an on-campus meal program is geographically accessible to the students of the eligible institutions that do not have on-campus meal programs.
(3)

Eligible institution of higher education
The term “eligible institution of higher education” means an institution of higher education under section 101 or 102(a)(1)(B) in which at least 30 percent of the undergraduate students enrolled at such institution are eligible to receive a Federal Pell Grant.
(4)

Snap
The term “SNAP” means the supplemental nutrition assistance program (as defined in section 3(t) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2012(t))).”.