Hunger-Free Summer for Kids Act of 2021

II 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 serv- ice program delivery. 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 ‘‘Hunger-Free Summer 4 for Kids Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:58 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2005.IS S2005 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2005 IS SEC. 2. ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS FOR SUMMER FOOD SERV- 1 ICE PROGRAM DELIVERY. 2 Section 13 of the Richard B. Russell National School 3 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1761) is amended— 4 (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 5 following: 6 ‘‘(13) ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS FOR PROGRAM 7 DELIVERY.— 8 ‘‘(A) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this para- 9 graph is to establish the alternative program 10 delivery options described in subparagraph 11 (B)— 12 ‘‘(i) to provide meals to children that 13 do not have readily available access to 14 meals otherwise provided under this sec- 15 tion; and 16 ‘‘(ii)(I) to increase program participa- 17 tion, effectiveness, and efficiency; 18 ‘‘(II) to improve child nutrition; and 19 ‘‘(III) to reduce food insecurity among 20 children. 21 ‘‘(B) ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS.—The Sec- 22 retary shall establish the following 2 alternative 23 options for program delivery: 24 ‘‘(i) Provision of an electronic benefit 25 transfer card (referred to in this para- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:58 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2005.IS S2005 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2005 IS graph as an ‘EBT card’) in accordance 1 with subparagraph (C). 2 ‘‘(ii) Off-site consumption in accord- 3 ance with subparagraph (D). 4 ‘‘(C) EBT CARD.— 5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Beginning not 6 later than summer 2023, the Secretary 7 shall make available an option to States to 8 provide program meals under this section 9 through the issuance of EBT cards to the 10 households of eligible children, determined 11 in accordance with clause (iv), for the ben- 12 efit of those eligible children. 13 ‘‘(ii) AMOUNT.— 14 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Subject to 15 subclause (III), the value of an EBT 16 card provided under this subpara- 17 graph shall be $30 per eligible child 18 per month. 19 ‘‘(II) ANNUAL LIMITATION.—No 20 household of an eligible child shall re- 21 ceive benefits under this subparagraph 22 for more than 3 months in a summer 23 period. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:58 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2005.IS S2005 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2005 IS ‘‘(III) ADJUSTMENT.—On Janu- 1 ary 1 of each year, the Secretary shall 2 adjust the values described in sub- 3 clauses (I) and (II) by the same per- 4 centage as the adjustment made 5 under subsection (b)(1)(B). 6 ‘‘(iii) USE OF BENEFITS.— 7 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—An EBT 8 card issued under this subparagraph 9 may be used only for the purchase of 10 food from retail stores approved for 11 participation in the supplemental nu- 12 trition assistance program established 13 under the Food and Nutrition Act of 14 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.). 15 ‘‘(II) BENEFIT REDEMPTION.—A 16 retail store shall redeem EBT card 17 benefits under this subparagraph in 18 the same manner that benefits are re- 19 deemed under the supplemental nutri- 20 tion assistance program described in 21 subclause (I). 22 ‘‘(III) TIMING.—An EBT card 23 issued under this subparagraph may 24 be used by a household for the benefit 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:58 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2005.IS S2005 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2005 IS of an eligible child only when school is 1 out of session for the summer period, 2 as defined by the Secretary. 3 ‘‘(iv) ELIGIBLE CHILDREN.—In ad- 4 ministering this subparagraph, the Sec- 5 retary shall ensure that an EBT card— 6 ‘‘(I) is only issued to a household 7 for the benefit of a child in that 8 household— 9 ‘‘(aa) who lives or attends 10 school— 11 ‘‘(AA) in a rural area, 12 as determined by the Sec- 13 retary; or 14 ‘‘(BB) outside an area 15 in which poor economic con- 16 ditions exist; 17 ‘‘(bb) who has been deter- 18 mined to be eligible for a free or 19 reduced price lunch under this 20 Act and a free or reduced price 21 breakfast under section 4 of the 22 Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 23 U.S.C. 1773); and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:58 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2005.IS S2005 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2005 IS ‘‘(cc) in accordance with, 1 with respect to the State in 2 which the child resides— 3 ‘‘(AA) a State agency 4 plan approved by the Sec- 5 retary pursuant to section 6 1101(b) of the Families 7 First Coronavirus Response 8 Act (7 U.S.C. 2011 note; 9 Public Law 116–127); or 10 ‘‘(BB) an application 11 process developed by the 12 State; and 13 ‘‘(II) is not issued to a household 14 for the benefit of a child living in an 15 area in which a congregate open feed- 16 ing site is operating, to prevent dupli- 17 cation in benefits. 18 ‘‘(D) OFF-SITE CONSUMPTION.— 19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Beginning not 20 later than summer 2023, the Secretary 21 shall make available an option to States to 22 provide program meals under this section 23 for off-site consumption. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:58 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2005.IS S2005 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 2005 IS ‘‘(ii) AVAILABILITY.—In admin- 1 istering this subparagraph, the Secretary 2 shall ensure that off-site consumption is 3 only available to a child if— 4 ‘‘(I) the child is determined to be 5 eligible for a free or reduced price 6 lunch under this Act and a free or re- 7 duced price breakfast under section 4 8 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 9 (42 U.S.C. 1773); and 10 ‘‘(II) not fewer than 1 of the con- 11 ditions described in clause (iii) is 12 present. 13 ‘‘(iii) CONDITIONS.—The conditions 14 referred to in clause (ii)(II) are the fol- 15 lowing: 16 ‘‘(I) The child lives or attends 17 school in a rural area, as determined 18 by the Secretary. 19 ‘‘(II) The child lives or attends 20 school outside an area in which poor 21 economic conditions exist. 22 ‘‘(III) The program is available 23 to the child at a congregate feeding 24 site but— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:58 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2005.IS S2005 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 2005 IS ‘‘(aa) the site is closed due 1 to extreme weather conditions; 2 ‘‘(bb) violence or other pub- 3 lic safety concerns in the area 4 prevent the child from traveling 5 safely to the site; 6 ‘‘(cc) the site is open not 7 more than 4 days a week; or 8 ‘‘(dd) the site provides only 9 1 meal per day. 10 ‘‘(iv) ADMINISTRATION.—In admin- 11 istering this subparagraph, the Secretary 12 shall ensure that— 13 ‘‘(I) any meal served through off- 14 site consumption— 15 ‘‘(aa) meets all applicable 16 State and local health, safety, 17 and sanitation standards; and 18 ‘‘(bb) meets the require- 19 ments under subsection (f)(1); 20 ‘‘(II) each State gives priority to 21 a child living in an area in which a 22 congregate open feeding site is not 23 reasonably accessible, as determined 24 by the Secretary; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:58 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2005.IS S2005 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 2005 IS ‘‘(III) the number of reimburs- 1 able meals served to each child in a 2 single meal service does not exceed 3 the total number of meals allowed for 4 reimbursement under the program 5 during a 10-day period; and 6 ‘‘(IV) meals may be provided by 7 entities that participated in a summer 8 meals demonstration project carried 9 out under section 749(g) of the Agri- 10 culture, Rural Development, Food and 11 Drug Administration, and Related 12 Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010 13 (Public Law 111–80; 123 Stat. 2132), 14 on the same terms and conditions as 15 provided under the demonstration 16 project. 17 ‘‘(E) SCOPE.—Under this paragraph, a 18 State— 19 ‘‘(i) may implement an alternative op- 20 tion described in subparagraph (B) in any 21 area described in subitem (AA) or (BB) of 22 subparagraph (C)(iv)(I)(aa) in the State; 23 but 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:58 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2005.IS S2005 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 2005 IS ‘‘(ii) shall not simultaneously imple- 1 ment both alternative options described in 2 subparagraph (B) in the same area in the 3 State. 4 ‘‘(F) REGULATIONS.—Not later than Octo- 5 ber 1, 2022, the Secretary shall promulgate 6 regulations, with an opportunity for notice and 7 comment— 8 ‘‘(i) to ensure the integrity of the al- 9 ternative options for program delivery de- 10 scribed in subparagraph (B); and 11 ‘‘(ii) to prevent duplication in benefits 12 received under this paragraph.’’; and 13 (2) in subsection (n)— 14 (A) by striking ‘‘and (6)’’ and inserting 15 ‘‘(6)’’; and 16 (B) by striking the period at the end and 17 inserting ‘‘; and (7) the plans of the State for 18 using the alternative options for program deliv- 19 ery described in subsection (a)(13), if applica- 20 ble.’’. 21 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:58 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2005.IS S2005 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS