Food and Nutrition Education in Schools Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1421 To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to establish the Food and Nutrition Education in Schools Pilot Program, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 28, 2021 Mr. BOOKER (for himself and Mr. CORNYN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nu- trition, and Forestry A BILL To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to establish the Food and Nutrition Education in Schools Pilot Program, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Food and Nutrition 4 Education in Schools Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:07 May 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1421.IS S1421 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1421 IS SEC. 2. FOOD AND NUTRITION EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS 1 PILOT PROGRAM. 2 Section 18 of the Richard B. Russell National School 3 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769) is amended by adding at the 4 end the following: 5 ‘‘(l) FOOD AND NUTRITION EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS 6 PILOT PROGRAM.— 7 ‘‘(1) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this subsection 8 is to provide local educational agencies with per- 9 sonnel dedicated to implementing integrated, hands- 10 on food and nutrition education in schools with the 11 goal of increasing acceptance and consumption of 12 healthy, high-quality meals and snacks by students. 13 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 14 days after the date of enactment of this subsection, 15 the Secretary shall establish a pilot program, to be 16 known as the ‘Food and Nutrition Education in 17 Schools Pilot Program’ (referred to in this sub- 18 section as the ‘pilot program’), under which the Sec- 19 retary shall award grants to local educational agen- 20 cies for— 21 ‘‘(A) projects that hire qualified, full-time 22 food and nutrition educators to carry out pro- 23 grams in schools that have the goal of improv- 24 ing student health and nutrition; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:07 May 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1421.IS S1421 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1421 IS ‘‘(B) projects that fund school gardens or 1 other evidence-based interventions relating to 2 student health and nutrition, aligned with the 3 latest school nutrition standards, to create 4 hands-on learning opportunities for students. 5 ‘‘(3) JOINT PARTNERSHIPS.—The Secretary 6 shall encourage, to the maximum extent practicable, 7 joint partnership projects under the pilot program 8 among— 9 ‘‘(A) local educational agencies; 10 ‘‘(B) nonprofit organizations, including 11 out-of-school-time youth development providers; 12 ‘‘(C) postsecondary institutions that offer 13 programs on nutrition, food preparation, or ag- 14 ricultural science; 15 ‘‘(D) food-service businesses (such as local 16 farms, restaurants, and food distributors); 17 ‘‘(E) beginning farmers and ranchers (as 18 defined in section 2501(a) of the Food, Agri- 19 culture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 20 (7 U.S.C. 2279(a))); 21 ‘‘(F) veteran farmers and ranchers (as de- 22 fined in that section); 23 ‘‘(G) socially disadvantaged farmers or 24 ranchers (as defined in section 355(e) of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:07 May 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1421.IS S1421 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1421 IS Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act 1 (7 U.S.C. 2003(e))); and 2 ‘‘(H) State and local government agencies. 3 ‘‘(4) COORDINATION.—In establishing the pilot 4 program, the Secretary shall consult and ensure co- 5 ordination with the heads of other appropriate Fed- 6 eral agencies and programs that deliver nutrition 7 education. 8 ‘‘(5) PROJECT PROPOSALS.— 9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 10 annually solicit from local educational agencies 11 the submission of project proposals for grants 12 under the pilot program. 13 ‘‘(B) REQUIRED ELEMENTS FOR PROJECT 14 PROPOSAL.—A project proposal submitted 15 under subparagraph (A) shall include— 16 ‘‘(i) a statement of the purposes of 17 the project; 18 ‘‘(ii) a description of— 19 ‘‘(I) the entity or individual with 20 overall responsibility for the project; 21 ‘‘(II) the qualifications of that 22 entity or individual; 23 ‘‘(III) community stakeholder en- 24 gagement for the project; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:07 May 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1421.IS S1421 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1421 IS ‘‘(IV) the logistics of the project; 1 and 2 ‘‘(V) the methods to be used to 3 evaluate student learning, such as 4 through a project, presentation, or 5 other form of assessment; 6 ‘‘(iii) a proposed budget for the funds 7 and time required to carry out the project; 8 ‘‘(iv) information regarding the source 9 and amount of any matching funding avail- 10 able for the project; 11 ‘‘(v) an implementation plan, includ- 12 ing efforts by the school food authority as- 13 sociated with the local educational agency 14 to integrate activities carried out under the 15 project with other efforts by schools to pro- 16 mote student health and nutrition; 17 ‘‘(vi) information that demonstrates 18 the clear potential of the project to con- 19 tribute to implementing integrated, hands- 20 on food and nutrition education in schools, 21 aligned with the latest school nutrition 22 standards, with the goal of increasing ac- 23 ceptance and consumption of healthy, high- 24 quality meals and snacks; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:07 May 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1421.IS S1421 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1421 IS ‘‘(vii) a description of a mechanism 1 that will be used to broadly share project 2 results and implementation strategies; and 3 ‘‘(viii) any other information that the 4 Secretary considers necessary. 5 ‘‘(C) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—The Sec- 6 retary may award a grant for a project proposal 7 submitted under subparagraph (A) if the 8 project— 9 ‘‘(i) incorporates evidence-based prac- 10 tices proven to increase healthy food con- 11 sumption by students; 12 ‘‘(ii) includes hands-on, experiential 13 learning; 14 ‘‘(iii) implements school gardens, taste 15 tests, student engagement, or other farm- 16 to-school practices; 17 ‘‘(iv) demonstrates the commitment of 18 the local educational agency— 19 ‘‘(I) to improving the nutritional 20 value of school meals; 21 ‘‘(II) to carrying out innovative 22 programs that improve the health and 23 wellness of schoolchildren, such as 24 farm-to-school programs; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:07 May 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1421.IS S1421 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1421 IS ‘‘(III) to accounting for the cul- 1 ture, input, and needs of the commu- 2 nity; 3 ‘‘(v) provides for project oversight by 4 a qualified nutrition professional; and 5 ‘‘(vi) meets any other requirement es- 6 tablished by the Secretary. 7 ‘‘(D) PRIORITY.—To the maximum extent 8 practicable, in awarding grants under the pilot 9 program, the Secretary shall give priority to 10 projects that— 11 ‘‘(i) serve schools or districts— 12 ‘‘(I) in which not less than 40 13 percent of students qualify for free or 14 reduced-price meals under this Act or 15 the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 16 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.); or 17 ‘‘(II) that include neighborhoods 18 with high rates of childhood obesity or 19 other diet-related diseases; 20 ‘‘(ii) provide programming in summer 21 months; and 22 ‘‘(iii) are joint partnership projects as 23 described in paragraph (3). 24 ‘‘(6) ADMINISTRATION.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:07 May 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1421.IS S1421 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1421 IS ‘‘(A) DIVERSITY.—In awarding grants 1 under the pilot program, the Secretary shall en- 2 sure that projects are located in diverse demo- 3 graphic, geographic, rural, urban, and suburban 4 settings. 5 ‘‘(B) INDIAN TRIBES.—The Secretary shall 6 ensure that not fewer than 1 project receiving 7 a grant under the pilot program— 8 ‘‘(i) is located on an Indian reserva- 9 tion; or 10 ‘‘(ii) serves a school in which the ma- 11 jority of the students are members of an 12 Indian tribe. 13 ‘‘(7) REPORTS.— 14 ‘‘(A) REPORTS TO SECRETARY.— 15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A local edu- 16 cational agency that receives a grant under 17 the pilot program shall periodically submit 18 to the Secretary a report that includes any 19 information that the Secretary determines 20 is necessary to evaluate the progress and 21 success of the project, including evidence 22 of student learning under the project, to 23 ensure positive results, assess problems, 24 and foster improvements. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:07 May 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1421.IS S1421 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1421 IS ‘‘(ii) AVAILABILITY TO THE PUBLIC.— 1 Reports under clause (i), and any other 2 documents of the local educational agency 3 relating to a project carried out using a 4 grant awarded under the pilot program, 5 shall be made available electronically to the 6 public in a timely manner. 7 ‘‘(B) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later 8 than 5 years after the date of enactment of this 9 subsection, and annually thereafter, the Sec- 10 retary shall submit to Congress a report that 11 includes— 12 ‘‘(i) a description of the results and 13 effectiveness of each project carried out 14 under the pilot program; 15 ‘‘(ii) an examination of the impact of 16 each project on— 17 ‘‘(I) student diet and dietary 18 practices; 19 ‘‘(II) student performance and 20 behavior; 21 ‘‘(III) food consumption; 22 ‘‘(IV) changes in cafeterias and 23 the school food environment; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:07 May 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1421.IS S1421 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1421 IS ‘‘(V) school meal participation by 1 students; and 2 ‘‘(VI) other indicators as deter- 3 mined by the Secretary; 4 ‘‘(iii) demographic data on the schools 5 and communities served by the pilot pro- 6 gram; 7 ‘‘(iv) a summary of the activities con- 8 ducted by each local educational agency 9 after receiving a grant under the pilot pro- 10 gram and the number of children served by 11 that local educational agency; and 12 ‘‘(v) recommendations on how the 13 pilot program may be improved and wheth- 14 er funding for the pilot program should be 15 continued. 16 ‘‘(8) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 17 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec- 18 retary to carry out this subsection $10,000,000 for 19 each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025.’’. 20 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:07 May 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1421.IS S1421 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS