I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4710 

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

grants to eligible entities for farm to school programs. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 26, 2010 

Mr. HOLT (for himself, Mr. SESTAK, Mr. BOYD, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. 

ELLISON, and Mr. DAVIS of Tennessee) 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 award grants to eligible entities for farm to school 

programs. 

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 ‘‘Farm to School Im5 provements Act of 2010’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FARM TO SCHOOL PROGRAM. 

7 (a) AMENDMENT.—The Richard B. Russell National 

8 School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) is amended 

9 by inserting after section 19, the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 19A. FARM TO SCHOOL PROGRAM. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide as3 sistance, through competitive matching grants and tech4 nical assistance, to eligible entities for farm to school pro5 grams that— 

6 ‘‘(1) improve access to local foods in schools 

7 and institutions participating in programs under this 

8 Act and section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 

9 (42 U.S.C. 1773) through farm to school activities, 

10 including the purchase of local food, establishment 

11 of effective relationships between school and institu12 tional food service providers, distributors, and pro13 ducers or groups of producers, school gardens, ap14 propriate equipment, and the provision of training 

15 and education; and 

16 ‘‘(2) are designed to— 

17 ‘‘(A) improve the nutritional health and 

18 well being of children; 

19 ‘‘(B) procure healthy local foods from 

20 small and medium-sized farms for meals at eli21 gible schools and institutions; 

22 ‘‘(C) support experiential nutrition edu23 cation activities and curriculum planning that 

24 incorporates the participation of school children 

25 in farm and garden-based agricultural edu26 cation activities; 


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1 ‘‘(D) develop a sustained commitment to 

2 farm to school programs in the community by 

3 linking schools and institutions, State and local 

4 agencies including Indian Tribal Organizations, 

5 institutions of higher education, agricultural 

6 producers, parents, community garden groups 

7 and other community stakeholders; and 

8 ‘‘(E) increase farm income by facilitating 

9 farmers’ access to institutional markets includ10 ing schools. 

11 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—For purposes of this sec12 tion, the term ‘eligible entity’ means— 

13 ‘‘(1) a school; 

14 ‘‘(2) nonprofit organization; or 

15 ‘‘(3) other entity that the Secretary determines 

16 offers a unique ability to provide services or farm17 to-school programs. 

18 ‘‘(c) GRANTS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) TYPES OF GRANTS.—A grant awarded 

20 under this section may include— 

21 ‘‘(A) an implementation grant to support 

22 the cost of implementing a farm to school pro23 gram; 

24 ‘‘(B) a training and technical assistance 

25 grant to support the cost of— 


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1 ‘‘(i) providing the training, oper2 ational support, information, and access to 

3 resources necessary to implement a suc4 cessful farm to school program; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) encouraging collaboration be6 tween public and private entities; or 

7 ‘‘(C) a planning grant to support the cost 

8 of conducting research, identifying resources, 

9 and developing partnerships to design a suc10 cessful and sustainable farm to school program. 

11 ‘‘(2) GRANT AMOUNTS.—A grant awarded 

12 under this section to an eligible entity shall not ex13 ceed— 

14 ‘‘(A) in the case of an implementation or 

15 training and technical assistance grant, 

16 $100,000; and 

17 ‘‘(B) in the case of a planning grant, 

18 $25,000. 

19 ‘‘(3) GRANT DURATION.—A grant under this 

20 section shall be awarded for a period— 

21 ‘‘(A) in the case of an implementation or 

22 training and technical assistance grant, not to 

23 exceed 2 years; and 

24 ‘‘(B) in the case of a planning grant, not 

25 to exceed 1 year. 


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1 ‘‘(d) COST SHARE.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The amount of a grant 

3 made under this section shall not exceed 75 percent 

4 of the cost of the proposed grant activities. 

5 ‘‘(2) NON-FEDERAL SUPPORT.—A recipient of a 

6 grant under this section shall be required to provide 

7 at least 25 percent of the cost of the proposed grant 

8 activities in the form of cash or in-kind contributions 

9 (including facilities, equipment, training, or services 

10 provided by State and local governments and private 

11 sources). 

12 ‘‘(e) EVALUATION.—A recipient of a grant under this 

13 section shall cooperate in an evaluation by the Secretary 

14 of the programs carried out using such grant funds. 

15 ‘‘(f) REGIONAL BALANCE.—In making awards and 

16 providing technical assistance under this section, the Sec17 retary shall to the maximum extent practicable, ensure— 

18 ‘‘(1) geographical diversity; and 

19 ‘‘(2) equitable treatment of urban, rural, and 

20 tribal communities. 

21 ‘‘(g) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall 

22 provide recipients of grants under this section with tech23 nical assistance, which shall include sharing information, 

24 best practices, research, and data on existing farm to 

25 school programs. 


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1 ‘‘(h) PROPOSALS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity desiring 

3 to receive a grant under this section shall submit a 

4 proposal to the Secretary at such time, in such man5 ner, and containing such information as the Sec6 retary may require. 

7 ‘‘(2) COMPETITIVE AWARD SELECTION.—The 

8 Secretary shall form review panels to evaluate pro9 posals submitted under paragraph (1) based on the 

10 criteria described in paragraph (3). Such review 

11 panels shall include— 

12 ‘‘(A) representatives of schools and eligible 

13 institutions; 

14 ‘‘(B) registered dietitians; 

15 ‘‘(C) operators of small and medium-sized 

16 farms; 

17 ‘‘(D) public agencies; 

18 ‘‘(E) non-governmental and community19 based organizations with expertise in local food 

20 systems and farm to school programs; and 

21 ‘‘(F) other appropriate parties as deter22 mined by the Secretary. 

23 ‘‘(3) PROPOSAL REVIEW CRITERIA.—In making 

24 awards under this section, the Secretary shall evaluVerDate Nov 24 2008 22:36 Feb 26, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4710.IH H4710

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1 ate proposals based on the extent to which the pro2 posed program— 

3 ‘‘(A) improves the nutritional health and 

4 well being of children; 

5 ‘‘(B) makes local food products available 

6 on the menu of the school or institution; 

7 ‘‘(C) benefits local small and medium-sized 

8 farms; 

9 ‘‘(D) incorporates experiential nutrition 

10 education activities and curriculum planning 

11 that incorporates the participation of school 

12 children in farm and garden-based agricultural 

13 education activities; 

14 ‘‘(E) serves schools and eligible institutions 

15 with a high proportion of children who are eligi16 ble for free and reduced price lunches; 

17 ‘‘(F) demonstrates collaboration between 

18 schools or institutions, non-governmental and 

19 community-based organizations, farmer groups, 

20 and other community partners; 

21 ‘‘(G) demonstrates the potential for long22 term program sustainability; 

23 ‘‘(H) includes adequate and participatory 

24 evaluation plans; and 


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1 ‘‘(I) meets such other related criteria as 

2 the Secretary may determine relevant. 

3 ‘‘(i) FUNDING.—Beginning on October 1, 2010, or of 

4 any funds in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the 

5 Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer to the Secretary 

6 of Agriculture to carry out this section $10,000,000 each 

7 fiscal year, to remain available until expended.’’. 

8 (b) CONFORMING CHANGE.—Section 18(g) of the 

9 Richard B. Russell School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769(g)) 

10 is amended— 

11 (1) by striking paragraphs (1) and (2); and 

12 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as 

13 paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively. 

Æ 


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