Meals on Wheels for Kids Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6968 To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to make grants to carry out a food service delivery pilot program for children during the non-school summer months, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 22, 2020 Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois (for himself, Mr. SWALWELL of California, Mr. HURD of Texas, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. TRONE, Mr. MCCAUL, Mr. RUSH, Mr. COURTNEY, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. KINZINGER, Mrs. AXNE, Mr. CARTER of Texas, Mr. VARGAS, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. CROW, Mr. SOTO, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Ms. NORTON, and Mr. ALLRED) introduced the following bill; which was re- ferred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to make grants to carry out a food service delivery pilot program for children during the non-school summer months, 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 ‘‘Meals on Wheels for 4 Kids Act of 2020’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:10 Jun 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6968.IH H6968 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6968 IH SEC. 2. CONGREGATE MEAL SERVICE REQUIREMENT. 1 Section 13 of the Richard B. Russell National School 2 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1761) is amended— 3 (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 4 following: 5 ‘‘(13) OFF-SITE CONSUMPTION.— 6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Beginning not later 7 than 1 year after the date of the enactment of 8 this subparagraph, the Secretary shall make 9 available an option to States to provide pro- 10 gram meals to children under this section 11 through service institutions that provide off-site 12 consumption. 13 ‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY.—In administering 14 this paragraph, the Secretary shall ensure that 15 off-site consumption is only available to a child 16 if— 17 ‘‘(i) the child is determined to be eligi- 18 ble for a free or reduced price lunch under 19 this Act and a free or reduced price break- 20 fast under section 4 of the Child Nutrition 21 Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773); and 22 ‘‘(ii) not less than 1 of the conditions 23 described in subparagraph (C) is present. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:10 Jun 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6968.IH H6968 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6968 IH ‘‘(C) CONDITIONS.—The conditions re- 1 ferred to in subparagraph (B)(ii) are the fol- 2 lowing: 3 ‘‘(i) The child lives in a rural area or 4 hard-to-reach area. 5 ‘‘(ii) The child lives in an area in 6 which poor economic conditions exist. 7 ‘‘(iii) The program is available to the 8 child at a congregate feeding site but— 9 ‘‘(I) the site is closed due to ex- 10 treme weather conditions; 11 ‘‘(II) the site is not reasonably 12 accessible to the child, as determined 13 by the Secretary; 14 ‘‘(III) violence or other public 15 safety concerns in the area prevent 16 the child from traveling safely to the 17 site; or 18 ‘‘(IV) the site is open not more 19 than 4 days a week. 20 ‘‘(D) ADMINISTRATION.—In administering 21 this paragraph, the Secretary shall ensure 22 that— 23 ‘‘(i) any meal served by a service in- 24 stitution through off-site consumption 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:10 Jun 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6968.IH H6968 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6968 IH meets the same standards for safety and 1 quality as a meal served at a congregate 2 feeding site; and 3 ‘‘(ii) each State gives priority to a 4 child living in an area in which a con- 5 gregate feeding site is not reasonably ac- 6 cessible, as determined by the Secretary. 7 ‘‘(E) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 1 year 8 after the date of the enactment of this subpara- 9 graph, the Secretary shall— 10 ‘‘(i) establish guidelines to ensure the 11 safety of children provided program meals 12 through off-site consumption; and 13 ‘‘(ii) establish best practices to ensure 14 the safety of meals served through off-site 15 consumption.’’; and 16 (2) in subsection (n)— 17 (A) by striking ‘‘and (6)’’ and inserting 18 ‘‘(6)’’; and 19 (B) by striking the period at the end and 20 inserting ‘‘; and (7) the plans of the State for 21 using off-site consumption described in sub- 22 section (a)(13), if applicable.’’. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:10 Jun 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6968.IH H6968 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 6968 IH SEC. 3. FOOD SERVICE DELIVERY PILOT PROGRAM FOR 1 SUMMER MONTHS. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (i) of section 13 of the 3 Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 4 1761) is amended to read as follows: 5 ‘‘(i) FOOD SERVICE DELIVERY PILOT PROGRAM.— 6 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es- 7 tablish a pilot program under which the Secretary 8 shall award grants on a competitive basis to States 9 to enter into contracts with eligible service institu- 10 tions or a consortia of eligible service institutions to 11 deliver meals in accordance with paragraph (5). 12 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—A State seeking a grant 13 under this subsection shall submit an application to 14 the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 15 containing such information as the Secretary may 16 require. 17 ‘‘(3) PRIORITY.—In making grants under this 18 subsection, the Secretary may give priority to appli- 19 cations submitted by eligible service institutions— 20 ‘‘(A) from States with— 21 ‘‘(i) high low-income child popu- 22 lations; or 23 ‘‘(ii) high child populations in rural 24 areas or hard-to-reach areas; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:10 Jun 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6968.IH H6968 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 6968 IH ‘‘(B) that plans to provide educational en- 1 richment opportunities to children who receive 2 meals under the pilot program. 3 ‘‘(4) CONDITIONS.—As a condition of receiving 4 a grant under this subsection, a State shall— 5 ‘‘(A) require that any service institution 6 with which the State enters into a contract to 7 provide meals pursuant to this subsection— 8 ‘‘(i) complies with the nutrition re- 9 quirements under section 9(a)(1)(A) of the 10 Richard B. Russell National School Lunch 11 Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(a)(1)(A)) with re- 12 spect to such meals; and 13 ‘‘(ii) delivers at least 5 meals a week 14 during the non-school summer months to 15 children in accordance with paragraph (5); 16 ‘‘(B) in selecting service institutions to 17 enter into a contract pursuant to this sub- 18 section, give priority to service institutions lo- 19 cated in rural areas or hard-to-reach areas; and 20 ‘‘(C) provide matching support in the form 21 of cash or in-kind contributions, including fa- 22 cilities, equipment, or services provided by the 23 State in an amount that is at least equal to 100 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:43 Jun 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6968.IH H6968 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 6968 IH percent of the amount of Federal funds received 1 under the grant under this subsection. 2 ‘‘(5) USE OF FUNDS.— 3 ‘‘(A) REQUIRED USE OF FUNDS.—A State 4 that receives a grant under this subsection shall 5 use the grant funds to enter into one or more 6 contracts with one or more service institutions 7 to deliver meals during the summer months di- 8 rectly to children who— 9 ‘‘(i) are eligible— 10 ‘‘(I) to participate in the summer 11 food service program under this sec- 12 tion; or 13 ‘‘(II) for free or reduced price 14 lunch under this Act or free or re- 15 duced price breakfast under section 4 16 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 17 (42 U.S.C. 1773); and 18 ‘‘(ii) live in a rural area or hard-to- 19 reach area. 20 ‘‘(B) PERMISSIBLE USE OF FUNDS.—A 21 State that receives a grant under this sub- 22 section may use the grant funds to provide to 23 children described in subparagraph (A) meals 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:10 Jun 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6968.IH H6968 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 6968 IH during extended school breaks or closures the 1 duration of which is greater than 5 school days. 2 ‘‘(6) OVERSIGHT AND EVALUATION.— 3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 4 provide for an independent evaluation of the 5 services carried out under paragraph (5) that 6 measures, to the maximum extent practicable, 7 the impact of such grants on the reduction of 8 hunger and access to meals for children resid- 9 ing in rural or hard-to-reach areas and low-in- 10 come areas during summer months. 11 ‘‘(B) PROGRAM REVIEW.—Not later than 12 18 months after the date on which grants are 13 first provided under this subsection, and annu- 14 ally thereafter, the Secretary shall— 15 ‘‘(i) review and evaluate the effective- 16 ness of the services carried out under para- 17 graph (5); 18 ‘‘(ii) suggest alternative services not 19 offered by a grant recipient that would be 20 appropriate for providing summer meals to 21 children in rural or hard-to-reach areas; 22 ‘‘(iii) submit to the Committee on Ag- 23 riculture of the House of Representatives, 24 the Committee on Education and Labor of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:10 Jun 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6968.IH H6968 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 6968 IH the House of Representatives and the 1 Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 2 Forestry of the Senate, a report containing 3 the results of the review conducted under 4 clause (i) and a description of the services 5 provided through the programs funded 6 under such a grant; and 7 ‘‘(iv) make the report described in 8 clause (iii) available on the public website 9 of the Department of Agriculture. 10 ‘‘(C) PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFOR- 11 MATION.—In making the report under subpara- 12 graph (B)(iii) publicly available, the Secretary 13 shall ensure that such report does not contain 14 any information that would identify any child or 15 parent, family member, or guardian of a child 16 who received services pursuant to this sub- 17 section. 18 ‘‘(7) SUNSET.—The authority to carry out this 19 subsection shall terminate on the date that is 3 20 years after the date of the enactment this sub- 21 section. 22 ‘‘(8) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In 23 addition to amounts made available under subsection 24 (r), there is authorized to be appropriated to carry 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:10 Jun 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6968.IH H6968 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 6968 IH out this subsection $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2020 1 and each of the 2 fiscal years thereafter. 2 ‘‘(9) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 3 ‘‘(A) RURAL AREA.—The term ‘rural area’ 4 means any area other than— 5 ‘‘(i) a city or town that has a popu- 6 lation of greater than 50,000 inhabitants; 7 and 8 ‘‘(ii) any urbanized area contiguous 9 and adjacent to a city or town described in 10 clause (i). 11 ‘‘(B) STATE.—The term ‘State’ includes 12 each Federally-recognized Indian Tribe.’’. 13 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:10 Jun 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H6968.IH H6968 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS