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108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2592

To promote improved nutrition for needy Americans, including women, infants, children, and students, by revising and enhancing Federal nutrition 

programs to incorporate a greater role for fruits, vegetables, and 100 

percent juice products. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 24, 2003

Mr. PUTNAM (for himself, Mr. CARDOZA, Mr. BACA, Mr. NUNES, Mr. FILNER, 

Mr. FOLEY, Mr. RADANOVICH, Mr. BOYD, Ms. HARRIS, and Mr. POMBO) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL

To promote improved nutrition for needy Americans, including women, infants, children, and students, by revising 

and enhancing Federal nutrition programs to incorporate 

a greater role for fruits, vegetables, and 100 percent 

juice products.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be referred to as the ‘‘Healthy America 

5 Act’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) The United States faces a continuing chal4 lenge in improving the quality of the Nation’s diet 

5 as the economic costs of poor nutrition, which con6 tributes to coronary heart disease, cancer, stroke, 

7 and diabetes, 4 of the 10 leading causes of death, 

8 are significant. 

9 (2) Consumption of a healthy diet including nu10 tritionally rich fruit and vegetables is essential for 

11 normal growth and development, and critical to pro12 moting health and preventing an array of chronic 

diseases, as an estimated 1 13 ⁄3 of cancer deaths could 

14 be prevented by healthy diets. 

15 (3) Most children and adults do not meet the 

16 recommended guidelines of 5 servings a day of fruit 

17 and vegetables, with only 15 percent of elementary 

18 students consuming the recommended requirement, 

and 1 19 ⁄4 of adults. 

20 (4) Among needy students, school nutrition pro21 grams often provide the primary opportunity for 

22 consumption of nutritionally valuable foods. 

23 (5) Breakfast is a critical meal for children and 

24 provides the nutrition necessary to optimize their 

25 learning capacities. 
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1 (6) The Special Supplemental Nutrition Pro2 gram for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), de3 signed to safeguard the health of needy women, in4 fants, and children has changed little in nearly 3 

5 decades and does not reflect many current nutri6 tional practices. To enhance the nutritional benefits 

7 for this at-risk population, fruits and vegetables 

8 should be available under the WIC program. 

9 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are: 

10 (1) To promote improved nutrition for needy 

11 Americans, including women, infants, children, and 

12 students, by revising and enhancing Federal nutri13 tion programs to incorporate a greater role for 

14 fruits, vegetables, and 100 percent juice products. 

15 (2) To extend, expand, and enhance Federal 

16 nutrition policies that recognize and directly encour17 age consumption of fruits, vegetables, and juices as 

18 critical to promoting health and preventing an array 

19 of chronic diseases. 

20 (3) To develop nutrition policies that increase 

21 awareness and understanding of the benefits pro22 vided by fruits and vegetables with respect to disease 

23 prevention and health promotion, as fruit and vege24 table consumption is an important component of a 

25 balanced diet. 
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1 (4) To elevate the Federal government’s invest2 ment in nutrition program priorities to better ad3 dress the significant role fruit and vegetables play in 

4 health promotion and disease prevention for the 

5 neediest Americans. 

6 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

7 As used in this Act—

8 (1) the term ‘‘fruit and vegetables’’ means 

9 fruits and vegetables that meet the guidelines devel10 oped by the National Cancer Institute and Produce 

11 for Better Health Foundation for the 5 A Day for 

12 Better Health program; and nuts 

13 (2) the term ‘‘juice’’ means 100 percent juice or 

14 juice concentrate, without added fat or sugar. 

15 SEC. 4. SCHOOL BREAKFAST PROGRAM. 

16 (a) AVAILABILITY OF FRUITS AND JUICES.—Section 

17 4(e) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 

18 1773(e)) is amended by adding at the end of paragraph 

19 (1)(A) the following: ‘‘The Secretary shall require that 

20 schools participating in the school breakfast program 

21 under this section shall make available fruits and 100 per22 cent juices, regardless of menu planning options.’’. 

23 (b) COMMODITIES PURCHASE PROGRAM FOR BREAK24 FASTS.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 6(c) of the Richard 

2 B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 

3 1755(c)) is amended—

4 (A) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 

5 paragraph (3); and 

6 (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 

7 following new paragraph: 

8 ‘‘(2) The value of donated foods, or cash pay9 ments made in lieu thereof, shall be 5 cents for the 

10 school breakfast program.’’. 

11 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 6(b) 

12 of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch 

13 Act (42 U.S.C. 1755(b)) is amended by ‘‘and school 

14 breakfast program’’ after ‘‘school lunch program’’. 

15 SEC. 5. EXPANSION OF FRUIT AND VEGETABLE PILOT PRO16 GRAM. 

17 Section 18(g) of the Richard B. Russell National 

18 School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769(g)) is amended to read 

19 as follows—

20 ‘‘(g) FRUIT AND VEGETABLE PILOT PROGRAM.—

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the school year begin22 ning July 2004, and in each of the 5 school years 

23 thereafter, the Secretary shall carry out a pilot pro24 gram in—
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1 ‘‘(A) 25 elementary or secondary schools in 

2 each of the 50 States, and in elementary or sec3 ondary schools on 10 Indian reservations, to 

4 make available to students free fresh and dried 

5 fruits and fresh vegetables during the school 

6 day in 1 or more areas designated by the 

7 school; and 

8 ‘‘(B) 25 service institutions in each of the 

9 50 States participating in the summer food 

10 service program for children established under 

11 section 13, to make available to children free 

12 fresh and dried fruits and fresh vegetables dur13 ing the day of operation in 1 or more areas des14 ignated by the service institution. 

15 ‘‘(2) PUBLICITY.—A school or service institu16 tion that participates in the pilot program shall 

17 widely publicize within the school or service institu18 tion the availability of free fruits and vegetables 

19 under the pilot program. 

20 ‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—A participating 

21 school or service institution may use for administra22 tive expenses—

23 ‘‘(A) during the first year of participation 

24 in the pilot program, not more than 20 percent 
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1 of the funds made available to the school or 

2 service institution for the year; and 

3 ‘‘(B) during each subsequent year of par4 ticipation in the pilot program, not more than 

5 10 percent of the funds made available to the 

6 school or service institution for the year. 

7 ‘‘(4) REPORT.—Not later than May 1, 2007, 

8 the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of 

9 the Economic Research Service, shall report to the 

10 Committee on Education and the Workforce of the 

11 House of Representatives and the Committee on Ag12 riculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate on 

13 the results of the pilot program. 

14 ‘‘(5) FUNDING.—The Secretary shall use not 

15 more than $75,000,000 of funds made available 

16 under section 32 of the Act of August 24, 1935 (7 

17 18 U.S.C. 612c), to carry out this subsection (other 

18 than paragraph (4)).’’. 

19 SEC. 6. HEALTHY FOODS FOR HEALTHY KIDS INITIATIVE 

20 GRANT PROGRAM. 

21 Section 18 of the Richard B. Russell National School 

22 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769) is amended by adding at the 

23 end the following new subsection: 

24 ‘‘(h) HEALTHY FOODS FOR HEALTHY KIDS INITIA25 TIVE GRANT PROGRAM.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the school year begin2 ning July 2004, each of the 5 school years there3 after, the Secretary, in conjunction with the Na4 tional 5 A Day for Better Health program, shall 

5 carry out a Healthy Foods for Healthy Kids pro6 gram to provide grants to school districts for innova7 tive projects to increase the availability and con8 sumption of fruits and vegetables. 

9 ‘‘(2) CRITERIA FOR GRANT PROJECTS.—In se10 lecting projects to receive grants under this sub11 section, the Secretary shall consider projects 

12 which—

13 ‘‘(A) provide the necessary infrastructure, 

14 such as procurement, delivery, and storage ef15 forts to enhance offerings of fruits and vegeta16 bles; 

17 ‘‘(B) initiate or offer salad bars, pre18 packaged salads, and fruit cups, innovative 

19 vending options, refrigerated vending, and other 

20 creative preparation and presentation methods; 

21 ‘‘(C) provide relevant training for school 

22 food service personnel carrying out these ef23 forts; and 

24 ‘‘(D) enhance education and promotion of 

25 fruit and vegetable intake; 
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1 ‘‘(E) establish school garden projects to 

2 provide an interactive, hands-on learning envi3 ronment to teach fundamental nutrition con4 cepts, foster a better understanding of where 

5 food comes from, and create opportunities for 

6 children to make healthier food choices. 

7 ‘‘(3) EVALUATION AND REPORT.—The Sec8 retary shall conduct an evaluation of the results of 

9 the program and shall transmit a report to the Com10 mittee on Education and the Workforce of the 

11 House of Representatives and the Committee on Ag12 riculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate not 

13 later than May 1, 2007. 

14 ‘‘(4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

15 There are authorized to be appropriated for carrying 

16 out this subsection $20,000,000 for each of fiscal 

17 years 2004 through 2009.’’. 

18 SEC. 7. FRUITS AND VEGETABLES IN SUMMER FOOD SERV19 ICE PROGRAM. 

20 Section 13(f)(4) of the Richard B. Russell National 

21 School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1761) is amended by adding 

22 at the end the following: ‘‘States shall, with assistance 

23 that the Secretary is authorized to provide, ensure that 

24 meals include fruit, vegetables, and 100 percent juices.’’
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1 SEC. 8. IMPROVEMENTS AND MODERNIZATION OF RE2 QUIREMENTS UNDER THE WOMEN, INFANTS, 

3 AND CHILDREN PROGRAM. 

4 The Secretary shall revise the regulations relating to 

5 the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, 

6 Infants, and Children (established under section 17 of the 

7 Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786)) to—

8 (1) update and improve the nutritional stand9 ards of food under the program; 

10 (2) require that the food package requirements, 

11 target nutrients, and nutrient needs of participants 

12 be re-evaluated and revised at least every 10 years 

13 to reflect current nutrition science; 

14 (3) permit program participants access to fresh 

15 fruits and vegetables; 

16 (4) permit the purchase of juices other than 

17 from concentrate and revise packaging requirements 

18 under the program to permit the purchase of prod19 ucts in modern packaging, including plastic and car20 ton containers; 

21 (5) permit the purchase of generic branded 

22 fruits and vegetable products under the program; 

23 and 

24 (6) include in nutrition education efforts a 

25 greater focus on promoting the consumption of 

26 fruits and vegetables. 
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1 SEC. 9. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE PURCHASE AND DIS2 TRIBUTION OF FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETA3 BLES. 

4 Section 10603 of the Farm and Rural Investment Act 

5 of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 612c–4) is amended by striking 

6 ‘‘$50,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$100,000,000’’. 

7 SEC. 10. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE RESEARCH AGENDA. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture shall 

9 develop a fruit and vegetable research agenda that coordi10 nates research between the Economic Research Service, 

11 the Food and Nutrition Service, the Agricultural Research 

12 Service and other agencies of the Department of Agri13 culture. 

14 (b) COORDINATION AND GOALS.—The agenda should 

15 include research on how best to promote fruit and vege16 table intake to children and should be developed in coordi17 nation with the produce industry, nutrition and health or18 ganizations, school food service professionals, and other 

19 stakeholders. Research goals shall include—

20 (1) the impact of increased fruit and vegetable 

21 consumption toward preventing chronic diseases, in22 cluding reducing obesity, diabetes, diverticulosis, 

23 cataracts, cancer, heart disease, stroke, and hyper24 tension, and the overall benefits of whole food con25 sumption including documentation of certain 
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1 phytonutrients found in fresh produce that may help 

2 prevent such chronic diseases; 

3 (2) the development of more effective behavior4 based dietary interventions and health promotion 

5 programs to increase consumption of fruits and 

6 vegetables based on Federal dietary guidelines, in7 cluding environmental influences, strategies for over8 coming barriers to behavior change, and food pref9 erence development for children and adolescents; and 

10 (3) identifying the influences on food choices 

11 and options for providing an optimal environment 

12 for making informed healthy food choices in a free13 market economy, including evaluation of different 

14 methods for communicating health information. 

15 SEC. 11. NATIONAL 5 A DAY COORDINATOR. 

16 The Secretary shall appoint a national 5 A Day for 

17 Better Health program coordinator and 7 regional 5 A 

18 Day coordinators for each of the 7 Food and Nutrition 

19 Service regional offices to coordinate and expand the Sec20 retary’s efforts to promote the consumption of fruit and 

21 vegetables. 

22 SEC. 12. REPORT ON COMMODITY PURCHASING PROGRAM. 

23 Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment 

24 of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall transmit a 

25 report to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 
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1 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

2 Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate which 

3 shall include—

4 (1) an assessment of current commodity pur5 chasing practices and how purchasing decisions are 

6 made; and 

7 (2) recommendations for a plan of action to 

8 align such purchases with the Dietary Guidelines for 

9 Americans issued by the Secretary and by the Sec10 retary of Health and Human Services. 

11 SEC. 13. STATE AND LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS. 

12 It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of Agri13 culture should establish partnerships with State depart14 ments of agriculture, State health departments, State de15 partments of education, and other State and local organi16 zations to improve access to and efficient distribution of 

17 fresh fruits and vegetables to schools and nutrition pro18 grams.

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