Salad Bars in Schools Expansion Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2688 To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to expand the use of salad bars in schools. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 10, 2019 Ms. WILSON of Florida 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 expand the use of salad bars in schools. 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 ‘‘Salad Bars in Schools 4 Expansion Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 (1) In the United States, one-third of all school- 8 aged children are overweight or obese and very few 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:05 May 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2688.IH H2688 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2688 IH eat the daily amount of fruits and vegetables rec- 1 ommended by national health authorities. 2 (2) On average, more than 30 million children 3 participate in the National School Lunch Program 4 daily, with more than 70 percent qualifying for free 5 or reduced-price meals based on family household in- 6 come. 7 (3) Improving the healthfulness of school meals, 8 including serving more fruits and vegetables, will im- 9 prove children’s eating habits and their health. The 10 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that 11 children ‘‘make half their plate fruits and vegeta- 12 bles’’ at each meal. 13 (4) Research indicates that school salad bars 14 are an effective strategy to increase children’s con- 15 sumption of a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. 16 (5) Salad bars are one of the easiest ways for 17 school food authorities to meet the new school lunch 18 nutrition standards that require serving a fruit and 19 a vegetable every day, a colorful variety of vegetables 20 every week, and that students select at least one-half 21 cup of a fruit or a vegetable at lunch. 22 (6) Salad bars are effective in elementary, mid- 23 dle, and high school, they empower students to try 24 new fruits and vegetables and are a tangible example 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:05 May 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2688.IH H2688 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2688 IH of a school’s commitment to wellness and healthier 1 school meals. 2 SEC. 3. EXPANSION OF SALAD BARS. 3 Section 18 of the Richard B. Russell National School 4 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769) is amended by adding at the 5 end the following: 6 ‘‘(l) EXPANSION OF SALAD BARS.— 7 ‘‘(1) MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS 8 PLAN.—Not later than 90 days after the date of the 9 enactment of the Salad Bars in Schools Expansion 10 Act, the Secretary shall establish and implement a 11 plan to promote the use of salad bars in schools par- 12 ticipating in the school lunch program established 13 under this Act. 14 ‘‘(2) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 15 In carrying out the plan described in paragraph (1), 16 the Secretary shall provide training and technical as- 17 sistance to eligible entities to assist the entities in 18 establishing salad bars in schools. Such training and 19 technical assistance may include— 20 ‘‘(A) webinars; 21 ‘‘(B) training workshops; 22 ‘‘(C) implementation resources; 23 ‘‘(D) nutrition education; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:05 May 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2688.IH H2688 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2688 IH ‘‘(E) strategies for parent engagement and 1 to encourage collaboration with allied organiza- 2 tions and partners. 3 ‘‘(3) GRANT PROGRAM.— 4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the 5 plan described in paragraph (1), the Secretary 6 shall establish a grant program under which the 7 Secretary shall provide grants, on a competitive 8 basis, to eligible entities selected under sub- 9 paragraph (C). 10 ‘‘(B) USE OF FUNDS.—Each eligible entity 11 receiving a grant under this subsection shall use 12 the grant funds to award schools a one-time 13 payment equal to the anticipated cost of install- 14 ing a salad bar, including the purchase of any 15 durable equipment required for a salad bar. 16 ‘‘(C) APPLICATION.— 17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—To receive a grant 18 under this subsection, an eligible entity 19 shall submit to the Secretary an applica- 20 tion at such time, in such manner, and 21 containing such information as the Sec- 22 retary may require. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:24 May 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2688.IH H2688 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2688 IH ‘‘(ii) PRIORITY.—In selecting grant 1 recipients, the Secretary may give priority 2 to eligible entities that— 3 ‘‘(I) serve schools in which not 4 less than 50 percent of the students 5 are eligible for free or reduced price 6 lunches; 7 ‘‘(II) serve schools in food 8 deserts; or 9 ‘‘(III) provide nutrition education 10 to students. 11 ‘‘(D) TERMINATION.—The grant program 12 shall terminate 5 years after the date of the en- 13 actment of the Salad Bars in Schools Expan- 14 sion Act. 15 ‘‘(E) EVALUATION.—Each grantee shall 16 submit to the Secretary an evaluation of the 17 grant program at such time, in such manner, 18 and containing such information as the Sec- 19 retary may require. 20 ‘‘(4) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 21 date of the enactment of the Salad Bars in Schools 22 Expansion Act, the Secretary shall submit a report 23 to the Committee on Education and Labor and the 24 Committee on Agriculture of the House of Rep- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:24 May 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2688.IH H2688 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2688 IH resentatives, and the Committee on Agriculture, Nu- 1 trition, and Forestry of the Senate, which includes— 2 ‘‘(A) recommendations, if any, for pro- 3 moting and establishing more salad bars in 4 schools; 5 ‘‘(B) the number of schools nationwide 6 that have a salad bar program in their school; 7 ‘‘(C) the number of schools that have new 8 salad bars as a result of the plan described in 9 paragraph (1); and 10 ‘‘(D) the evaluations submitted by grantees 11 under paragraph (4)(E). 12 ‘‘(5) REVISION OF GUIDANCE ON SALAD BARS 13 IN THE NATIONAL SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM.—Not 14 later than 90 days after submitting the report under 15 paragraph (4), the Secretary shall revise the March 16 27, 2013, policy memorandum SP 31–2013, ‘Salad 17 Bars in the National School Lunch Program’, in 18 light of any recommendations contained in the re- 19 port. 20 ‘‘(6) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 21 ‘‘(A) DURABLE EQUIPMENT.—The term 22 ‘durable equipment’ means durable food prepa- 23 ration, handling, cooking, serving, and storage 24 equipment greater than $500 in value. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:24 May 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2688.IH H2688 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2688 IH ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligi- 1 ble entity’ means— 2 ‘‘(i) a school; or 3 ‘‘(ii) a school food authority. 4 ‘‘(C) FOOD DESERT.—The term ‘food 5 desert’ means a census tract with a substantial 6 share of residents who live in low-income areas 7 that have low levels of access to a grocery store 8 or a healthy, affordable food retail outlet.’’. 9 SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON NEW APPROPRIATIONS. 10 No additional funds are authorized to be appro- 11 priated to carry out this Act and the amendments made 12 by this Act, and this Act and such amendments shall be 13 carried out using amounts otherwise made available for 14 such purposes. 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:24 May 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2688.IH H2688 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS