I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7831 

To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to establish 

a pilot program to provide selected States with an increased reimbursement for school lunches that are comprised of locally-grown and unprocessed foods, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 29, 2020 

Mr. DELGADO (for himself and Mr. SENSENBRENNER) 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 establish a pilot program to provide selected 

States with an increased reimbursement for school 

lunches that are comprised of locally-grown and unprocessed foods, and for other purposes. 

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 cited as the ‘‘Small Farm to School 

5 Act of 2020’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

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


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1 (1) Across the United States, school food serv2 ice directors of school lunch programs face very tight 

3 budgets, and many find it challenging to shift their 

4 procurement practices without additional support. 

5 (2) One way to encourage school food service 

6 directors to procure more locally-produced and un7 processed foods is to offer reimbursements to pro8 vide financial incentives for purchases and ease the 

9 process of shifting existing procurement practices. 

10 (3) Research suggests that providing financial 

11 incentives to school food service directors for pur12 chasing of locally-produced and unprocessed foods, 

13 can result in an overall positive economic effect for 

14 farmers and local economies. 

15 (4) In one such study, Cornell University re16 searchers found that providing an additional $0.05- 

17 per-lunch subsidy incentive to school food service di18 rectors in New York State that use local fruits or 

19 vegetables one day per week would have an overall 

20 positive economic effect for farmers and local econo21 mies. 

22 (5) In a report on Michigan’s ‘‘10 Cents a Meal 

23 for School Kids and Farms’’ State pilot program, re24 searchers found that providing schools with up to 

25 $0.10-per-meal in incentive match funding to purVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:24 Aug 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7831.IH H7831

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1 chase and serve Michigan-grown fruits, vegetables, 

2 and dry beans resulted in an overall positive eco3 nomic effect for the State’s economy, doubling the 

4 investment of such State in the program. 

5 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to provide 

6 incentives for school food service directors of school lunch 

7 programs to increase purchases of locally-produced and 

8 unprocessed foods from small farmers, thereby providing 

9 healthier lunches for children and creating a positive eco10 nomic effect for small farmers and local economies. 

11 SEC. 3. LOCALLY-PRODUCED AND UNPROCESSED FOODS 

12 PILOT PROGRAM. 

13 Section 18 of the Richard B. Russell National School 

14 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769) is amended by inserting be15 fore subsection (b) the following: 

16 ‘‘(a) LOCALLY-PRODUCED AND UNPROCESSED

17 FOODS PILOT PROGRAM.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 

19 out a grant program to make 3-year grants to 8 

20 States or Indian tribal organizations to provide 

21 school food authorities with an increased reimburse22 ment for free and reduced price lunches that are 

23 qualified lunches (as defined in paragraph (10)). 

24 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a 

25 grant under this subsection, a State or Indian tribal 


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1 organization shall submit an application to the Sec2 retary at such time, in such manner, and containing 

3 such information as the Secretary may require. 

4 ‘‘(3) SELECTION OF STATES.— 

5 ‘‘(A) REGIONAL REQUIREMENT.—In 

6 awarding grants to States or Indian tribal orga7 nizations under this subsection, the Secretary 

8 shall select at least one State or Indian tribal 

9 organization located in each of the following re10 gions designated by the Administrator of the 

11 Food and Nutrition Service: 

12 ‘‘(i) The Mid-Atlantic Region. 

13 ‘‘(ii) The Midwest Region. 

14 ‘‘(iii) The Mountain Plains Region. 

15 ‘‘(iv) The Northeast Region. 

16 ‘‘(v) The Southern Region. 

17 ‘‘(vi) The Southwest Region. 

18 ‘‘(vii) The Western Region. 

19 ‘‘(B) PRIORITY.— 

20 ‘‘(i) HIGHEST PRIORITY.—To the 

21 maximum extent practicable, in awarding 

22 grants under this subsection, the Secretary 

23 shall give the highest priority to a State or 

24 Indian tribal organization that proposes in 

25 an application under paragraph (2) to 


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1 carry out a project that, as determined by 

2 the Secretary— 

3 ‘‘(I) makes local food products 

4 available on the menu of the eligible 

5 institution; 

6 ‘‘(II) serves a high proportion of 

7 children who are eligible for free or 

8 reduced price meals; 

9 ‘‘(III) incorporates experiential, 

10 and traditional and culturally appro11 priate nutrition, food, or agricultural 

12 education activities in curriculum 

13 planning; 

14 ‘‘(IV) serves a high proportion of 

15 children from socially disadvantaged 

16 backgrounds; 

17 ‘‘(V) demonstrates collaboration 

18 between State and local agencies, 

19 Tribal organizations and agencies, ag20 ricultural producers or groups of agri21 cultural producers, land-grant colleges 

22 and universities, and nonprofit enti23 ties; 


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1 ‘‘(VI) includes adequate and 

2 participatory evaluation plans, as de3 termined by the Secretary; 

4 ‘‘(VII) demonstrates the potential 

5 for long-term sustainability; 

6 ‘‘(VIII) increases the availability 

7 of locally-produced and unprocessed 

8 foods to children; and 

9 ‘‘(IX) meets any other criteria 

10 that the Secretary determines appro11 priate. 

12 ‘‘(ii) ADDITIONAL PRIORITY.—In 

13 awarding grants to States or Indian tribal 

14 organizations under this subsection, the 

15 Secretary shall, in addition to the priority 

16 described in clause (i), give priority to— 

17 ‘‘(I) a State or Indian tribal or18 ganization with a high quantity and 

19 variety of growers of local fruits and 

20 vegetables on a per capita basis; and 

21 ‘‘(II) a State or Indian tribal or22 ganization with a demonstrated com23 mitment to farm-to-school activities. 

24 ‘‘(4) USE OF FUNDS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State or Indian 

2 tribal organization that receives a grant under 

3 this subsection shall use the grant funds to pro4 vide to an additional 2.5 cents reimbursement 

5 to each school food authority located in such 

6 State for each qualified lunch served by such 

7 school food authority. 

8 ‘‘(B) MATCHING FUNDS REQUIREMENT.— 

9 A State or Indian tribal organization that re10 ceives a grant under this subsection shall pro11 vide, toward the cost of the activities assisted 

12 under the grant, from non-Federal sources, an 

13 amount equal to 100 percent of the amount of 

14 the grant. 

15 ‘‘(5) REPORTS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) STATE REPORT.—Not later than 1 

17 year after the date of the enactment of this 

18 subsection, a State or Indian tribal organization 

19 awarded a grant under this subsection shall 

20 submit a report to the Secretary that in21 cludes— 

22 ‘‘(i) the quantity of locally-grown and 

23 unprocessed foods annually purchased and 

24 served prior to a grant under this sub25 section; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the locally-grown and unproc2 essed foods purchased and served pursuant 

3 to a grant under this subsection; 

4 ‘‘(iii) the source, quantity, and cost of 

5 each such food described in clauses (i) and 

6 (ii); and 

7 ‘‘(iv) an assessment of the activities 

8 carried out by such State pursuant to such 

9 grant. 

10 ‘‘(B) DEPARTMENT REPORT.—Not later 

11 than 1 year after the date of the enactment of 

12 this subsection, the Secretary shall submit a re13 port to Congress that includes— 

14 ‘‘(i) an analysis of the pilot project 

15 under this subsection; 

16 ‘‘(ii) the data reported to the Sec17 retary by participating States and Indian 

18 tribal organizations under subparagraph 

19 (A); and 

20 ‘‘(iii) a benefit-cost ratio analysis tak21 ing into account the increased economic ac22 tivity on farms, input suppliers, and others 

23 employed in the food distribution sector. 

24 ‘‘(6) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—Grant 

25 funds provided under this subsection shall be used to 


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1 supplement, not supplant, other Federal or State 

2 funds available to carry out activities described in 

3 this subsection. 

4 ‘‘(7) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Of the funds made 

6 available to carry out this subsection in a fiscal 

7 year, the Secretary shall make an allocation to 

8 the 8 States or Indian tribal organizations 

9 awarded a grant under this subsection. Such al10 location shall be made on a pro rata basis de11 termined by the total number of reimbursable 

12 meals served during the previous school year. 

13 ‘‘(B) ADMINISTRATIVE.—Of the funds 

14 made available to a State or Indian tribal orga15 nization under this subsection, not more than 3 

16 percent may be used for administrative ex17 penses. 

18 ‘‘(8) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

19 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

20 this subsection $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2020 and 

21 each succeeding fiscal year, to remain available until 

22 expended. 

23 ‘‘(9) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(A) FARM-TO-SCHOOL ACTIVITIES.—The 

2 term ‘farm-to-school activities’ includes the fol3 lowing activities: 

4 ‘‘(i) Planting and maintenance of 

5 farms or gardens. 

6 ‘‘(ii) Procurement from local agricul7 tural producers. 

8 ‘‘(iii) Educational activities relating to 

9 agriculture, nutrition, or food. 

10 ‘‘(B) LOCALLY-PRODUCED.—The term ‘lo11 cally-produced’ means food that is— 

12 ‘‘(i) raised, produced, and distributed 

13 in a locality that is less than 400 miles 

14 from the point of sale of such food, or 

15 ‘‘(ii) raised, produced, distributed, and 

16 sold within the same State, territory, or 

17 Tribal land. 

18 ‘‘(C) MAJORITY-CONTROLLED PRODUCER19 BASED BUSINESS VENTURE.—The term ‘major20 ity-controlled producer-based venture’ has the 

21 meaning given the term in section 210A for the 

22 Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 

23 1627(c)). 

24 ‘‘(D) QUALIFIED LUNCH.—The term 

25 ‘qualified lunch’ means a lunch served by a 


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1 school food authority under this Act of which at 

2 least one component of such lunch is comprised 

3 entirely of locally-produced and unprocessed 

4 foods procured directly from— 

5 ‘‘(i) an independent producer; 

6 ‘‘(ii) an agricultural producer group, 

7 farmer, or rancher cooperative or majority8 controlled producer-based venture— 

9 ‘‘(I) that is privately held and in10 corporated within a 400-mile radius of 

11 the school food authority procuring 

12 such locally-produced and unprocessed 

13 foods; and 

14 ‘‘(II) of which the majority of the 

15 owners are located within a 400-mile 

16 radius of such school food authority; 

17 or 

18 ‘‘(iii) an intermediary— 

19 ‘‘(I) that is privately held and in20 corporated within a 400-mile radius of 

21 the school food authority procuring 

22 such locally-produced and unprocessed 

23 foods; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) of which the majority of the 

2 owners are located within a 400-mile 

3 radius of such school food authority. 

4 ‘‘(E) UNPROCESSED.—The term ‘unproc5 essed’ means only those agricultural products 

6 that retain their inherent character. The effects 

7 of the following food handling and preservation 

8 techniques shall not be considered as changing 

9 an agricultural product into a product of a dif10 ferent kind or character: cooling; refrigerating; 

11 freezing; size adjustment made by peeling, slic12 ing, dicing, cutting, chopping, shucking, and 

13 grinding; forming ground products into patties 

14 without any additives or fillers; drying/dehydra15 tion; washing; packaging (such as placing eggs 

16 in cartons), vacuum packing and bagging (such 

17 as placing vegetables in bags or combining 2 or 

18 more types of vegetables or fruits in a single 

19 package); the addition of ascorbic acid or other 

20 preservatives to prevent oxidation of produce; 

21 butchering livestock and poultry; cleaning fish; 

22 and the pasteurization of milk. 

23 ‘‘(F) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means any 

24 of the several States, the District of Columbia, 


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1 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any other 

2 territory or possession of the United States.’’. 

Æ 


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