Healthy Future Students and Earth Pilot Program Act of 2023

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3276 To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to establish a pilot grant program to make grants to school food authorities to provide 100 percent plant-based food and milk options, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 11, 2023 Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ (for herself, Ms. NORTON, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. DOGGETT, Mrs. MCBATH, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. MFUME, Ms. PRESSLEY, Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE, Mr. EVANS, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. NADLER, Ms. BROWNLEY, Ms. OMAR, and Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce A BILL To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to establish a pilot grant program to make grants to school food authorities to provide 100 percent plant- based food and milk options, 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 ‘‘Healthy Future Stu- 4 dents and Earth Pilot Program Act of 2023’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:37 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3276.IH H3276 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 3276 IH SEC. 2. PLANT-BASED FOODS IN SCHOOLS. 1 Section 18 of the Richard B. Russell National School 2 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769) is amended by adding after 3 subsection (c) the following: 4 ‘‘(d) PILOT GRANT PROGRAM FOR 100 PERCENT 5 PLANT-BASED FOOD OPTIONS.— 6 ‘‘(1) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary 7 shall establish and carry out a pilot grant program 8 to award grants to eligible school food authorities to 9 carry out the activities described in paragraph (4). 10 ‘‘(2) IN GENERAL.— 11 ‘‘(A) TERM.—The term of a grant awarded 12 under this subsection shall be 3 years. 13 ‘‘(B) GRANT AMOUNT.—In awarding 14 grants under this subsection, the Secretary 15 shall, to the extent practicable, award grants of 16 diverse amounts. 17 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.— 18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to re- 19 ceive a grant under this subsection, an eligible 20 school food authority shall submit to the Sec- 21 retary an application at such time, in such 22 manner, and containing such information as the 23 Secretary may require, including— 24 ‘‘(i) a participatory evaluation plan; 25 and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:37 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3276.IH H3276 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 3276 IH ‘‘(ii) a plan for providing culturally 1 appropriate meals. 2 ‘‘(B) PRIORITY.—To the maximum extent 3 practicable, in awarding grants under this sub- 4 section, the Secretary shall give priority to an 5 eligible school food authority that will use the 6 grant funds to— 7 ‘‘(i) serve a high proportion of chil- 8 dren who are eligible for free or reduced 9 price meals; 10 ‘‘(ii) demonstrate collaboration with 11 nongovernmental and community-based or- 12 ganizations, agricultural producers, and 13 other community partners with respect to 14 the activities described in paragraph (4); 15 ‘‘(iii) incorporate experiential and cul- 16 turally appropriate plant-based food, nutri- 17 tion, or agricultural education activities re- 18 lated to 100 percent plant-based food op- 19 tions in the classroom; 20 ‘‘(iv) incorporate organically produced 21 100 percent plant-based food options; and 22 ‘‘(v) meets any other criteria that the 23 Secretary determines appropriate. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:37 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3276.IH H3276 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 3276 IH ‘‘(4) USE OF FUNDS.—A grant awarded under 1 this subsection may be used for any of the following 2 activities: 3 ‘‘(A) To contract with qualified third par- 4 ties for professional development training for 5 food service personnel on serving (including pre- 6 paring, procuring, marketing, and creating 7 menus) 100 percent plant-based food options. 8 ‘‘(B) To provide compensation, for each 9 employee who participates in the professional 10 development training described in subparagraph 11 (A), at the regular rate of pay of such em- 12 ployee. 13 ‘‘(C) To provide technical assistance and 14 student engagement and education on 100 per- 15 cent plant-based food options, including pro- 16 viding taste tests, recipe development, and cul- 17 inary education. 18 ‘‘(D) To provide compensation for addi- 19 tional work relating to serving meals that in- 20 clude a 100 percent plant-based food option. 21 ‘‘(E) To conduct outreach to, and cover 22 costs of procurement of foods from, agricultural 23 producers of 100 percent plant-based food op- 24 tions, including— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:37 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3276.IH H3276 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 3276 IH ‘‘(i) underserved producers; 1 ‘‘(ii) limited resource farmers or 2 ranchers, as defined by the Secretary; 3 ‘‘(iii) producers on a certified organic 4 farm; and 5 ‘‘(iv) local farmers. 6 ‘‘(5) REPORTS.— 7 ‘‘(A) RECORDKEEPING REQUIRED.—Each 8 eligible school food authority awarded a grant 9 under this subsection shall keep records of the 10 100 percent plant-based food options served 11 pursuant to this subsection as the Secretary de- 12 termines appropriate. 13 ‘‘(B) REPORT REQUIRED BY SCHOOL FOOD 14 AUTHORITIES.—Not later than 1 year after re- 15 ceiving a grant under this subsection, and an- 16 nually for the duration of the grant term de- 17 scribed in paragraph (2)(A), a school food au- 18 thority shall submit to the Secretary a report 19 on the pilot grant program, including informa- 20 tion on— 21 ‘‘(i) the number of 100 percent plant- 22 based food options that the school food au- 23 thority served during the grant period 24 compared with the preceding school year; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:37 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3276.IH H3276 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 3276 IH ‘‘(ii) the number of schools served by 1 the school food authority pursuant to the 2 grant; 3 ‘‘(iii) the number of students served 4 by the school food authority pursuant to 5 the grant; and 6 ‘‘(iv) how the school food authority 7 used the grant funds. 8 ‘‘(C) REPORT BY SECRETARY.—With re- 9 spect to each school year during which the Sec- 10 retary receives the report required under sub- 11 paragraph (B), the Secretary shall, not later 12 than 1 year after the date that is the last day 13 of such school year, submit to Congress a re- 14 port that includes— 15 ‘‘(i) a summary of the reports received 16 during such school year; and 17 ‘‘(ii) such information with respect to 18 the pilot program as the Secretary deter- 19 mines to be relevant. 20 ‘‘(6) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 21 shall provide technical assistance and information to 22 assist school food authorities— 23 ‘‘(A) to facilitate the coordination and 24 sharing of information and resources that may 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:37 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3276.IH H3276 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 3276 IH be applicable to the activities described in para- 1 graph (4); and 2 ‘‘(B) to collect and share information on 3 best practices. 4 ‘‘(7) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 5 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 6 this subsection $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2024, to 7 remain available through fiscal year 2028. 8 ‘‘(8) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 9 ‘‘(A) 100 PERCENT PLANT-BASED FOOD 10 OPTION.—The term ‘100 percent plant-based 11 food option’ means a breakfast or lunch meal 12 option or component that— 13 ‘‘(i) includes a meat alternate as de- 14 scribed in— 15 ‘‘(I) section 210.10 of title 7, 16 Code of Federal Regulations (or suc- 17 cessor regulations); or 18 ‘‘(II) appendix A to part 210 of 19 7, Code of Federal Regulations (or 20 successor regulations); and 21 ‘‘(ii) does not contain any animal 22 products or byproducts, such as meat, 23 poultry, honey, fish, dairy, or eggs. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:37 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3276.IH H3276 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 3276 IH ‘‘(B) BEGINNING FARMER OR RANCHER.— 1 The term ‘beginning farmer or rancher’ has the 2 meaning given such term in section 343(a) of 3 the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development 4 Act (7 U.S.C. 1991(a)). 5 ‘‘(C) ELIGIBLE SCHOOL FOOD AUTHOR- 6 ITY.—The term ‘eligible school food authority’ 7 means a school food authority for which 50 per- 8 cent or more of the students served by such 9 school food authority are eligible for free or re- 10 duced price lunch under this Act or free or re- 11 duced price breakfast under section 4 of the 12 Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773). 13 ‘‘(D) FOOD, AGRICULTURE, CONSERVA- 14 TION, AND TRADE ACT TERMS.—The terms 15 ‘certified organic farm’, ‘organically produced’, 16 and ‘producer’ have the meanings given such 17 terms in section 2103 of the Food, Agriculture, 18 Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 19 6502). 20 ‘‘(E) UNDERSERVED PRODUCER.—The 21 term ‘underserved producer’ means an indi- 22 vidual (including a member of an Indian Tribe) 23 that is— 24 ‘‘(i) a beginning farmer or rancher; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:37 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3276.IH H3276 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HR 3276 IH ‘‘(ii) a veteran farmer or rancher; or 1 ‘‘(iii) a socially disadvantaged farmer 2 or rancher. 3 ‘‘(F) VETERAN FARMER OR RANCHER.— 4 The term ‘veteran farmer or rancher’ has the 5 meaning given such term in section 2501(a) of 6 the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade 7 Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 2279(a)).’’. 8 SEC. 3. ACCOMMODATING DIETARY REQUIREMENTS. 9 Section 9(a) of the Richard B. Russell National 10 School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(a)) is amended— 11 (1) in paragraph (1)— 12 (A) in subparagraph (A), by amending 13 clause (i) to read as follows: 14 ‘‘(i) shall not— 15 ‘‘(I) be construed to prohibit the 16 substitution of foods to accommodate 17 the medical needs of individual stu- 18 dents; or 19 ‘‘(II) be construed to prohibit the 20 nutritionally equivalent substitution of 21 foods to accommodate religiously 22 based or other special dietary needs of 23 individual students; and’’; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:37 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3276.IH H3276 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •HR 3276 IH (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking 1 ‘‘lower-fat versions of foods commonly used in 2 the school lunch program under this Act’’ and 3 inserting ‘‘foods that comply with the meal pat- 4 terns prescribed by the Secretary’’; and 5 (2) in paragraph (2)— 6 (A) by amending subparagraph (A)(iii) to 7 read as follows: 8 ‘‘(iii) shall provide, as a reasonable ac- 9 commodation under the Americans with 10 Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.) 11 and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act 12 of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794), a substitute for 13 fluid milk for a student whose disability re- 14 stricts their diet.’’; and 15 (B) by amending subparagraph (B) to read 16 as follows: 17 ‘‘(B) OTHER SUBSTITUTIONS.— 18 ‘‘(i) STANDARDS FOR REQUIRED SUB- 19 STITUTION.— 20 ‘‘(I) With respect to a student 21 for whom fluid milk is not nutrition- 22 ally appropriate due to a medical or 23 other special dietary need other than 24 a disability described in subparagraph 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:37 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3276.IH H3276 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •HR 3276 IH (A)(iii) (as determined by the school 1 in consultation with the parent or 2 legal guardian of such student), a 3 school shall substitute, for the fluid 4 milk provided under subparagraph 5 (A), a nondairy beverage that meets 6 the nutritional needs of such student. 7 ‘‘(II) A school shall substitute, 8 for the fluid milk provided under sub- 9 paragraph (A), a nondairy beverage 10 that is nutritionally equivalent to fluid 11 milk and meets nutritional standards 12 established by the Secretary if the 13 parent or legal guardian of such stu- 14 dent submits a written request for 15 such substitution. 16 ‘‘(ii) STANDARDS FOR DISCRETIONARY 17 SUBSTITUTION.—A school may offer each 18 student a nondairy beverage as a sub- 19 stitute for fluid milk that is nutritionally 20 equivalent to fluid milk and meets nutri- 21 tional standards established by the Sec- 22 retary. 23 ‘‘(iii) EXCESS EXPENSES.—Except as 24 provided under clause (iv), expenses in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:37 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3276.IH H3276 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •HR 3276 IH curred by providing substitutions under 1 clauses (i) and (ii) that are in excess of ex- 2 penses covered by reimbursements under 3 this Act shall be paid by the school food 4 authority. 5 ‘‘(iv) PILOT PROGRAM.— 6 ‘‘(I) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 7 Not later than 90 days after the date 8 of the enactment of this subpara- 9 graph, the Secretary shall establish 10 and carry out a pilot grant program 11 to award grants to eligible school food 12 authorities to carry out subclause 13 (III). 14 ‘‘(II) PRIORITY.—In awarding 15 grants under this clause, the Sec- 16 retary may give priority to— 17 ‘‘(aa) an eligible school food 18 authority that serves high pro- 19 portions of students with high 20 rates of lactose intolerance; and 21 ‘‘(bb) an eligible school food 22 authority that demonstrates, as 23 part of the application for a 24 grant under this clause, a need 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:37 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3276.IH H3276 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 13 •HR 3276 IH for nondairy beverages for stu- 1 dents served by such school food 2 authority due to dietary reasons. 3 ‘‘(III) USE OF FUNDS.—A school 4 food authority shall use grant funds 5 awarded under this clause to reim- 6 burse the full cost of providing 7 nondairy beverages as substitutes for 8 fluid milk under clause (i)(I) incurred 9 by such school food authority. 10 ‘‘(IV) REPORTS.— 11 ‘‘(aa) ANNUAL REPORT BY 12 SCHOOL FOOD AUTHORITY.—Not 13 later than 1 year after receiving 14 a grant under this clause, and on 15 an annual basis for the duration 16 of the pilot program thereafter, a 17 school food authority shall sub- 18 mit to the Secretary a report on 19 the pilot grant program, includ- 20 ing information with respect to— 21 ‘‘(AA) the number of 22 schools served by the school 23 food authority pursua [Text truncated for display. 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