I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4870 

To provide plant-based commodities under the school lunch program under 

the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act and the school breakfast program under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 17, 2010 

Mr. POLIS of Colorado (for himself, Mr. ANDREWS, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE

JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. CARNAHAN, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Ms. CLARKE, 

Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. 

DELAHUNT, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. FILNER, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. AL GREEN of 

Texas, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. HINCHEY, Ms. 

HIRONO, Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas, Ms. KILPATRICK of Michigan, Ms. 

LEE of California, Mr. MEEKS of New York, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Ms. 

NORTON, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. RICHARDSON, Mr. ROTHMAN of New Jersey, 

Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Ms. LINDA T. SA ́NCHEZ of California, Ms. 

SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SIRES, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. TOWNS, 

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Ms. WATSON, and Mr. KUCINICH) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 

Labor 

A BILL 

To provide plant-based commodities under the school lunch 

program under the Richard B. Russell National School 

Lunch Act and the school breakfast program under the 

Child Nutrition Act of 1966, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Healthy School Meals 

3 Act of 2010’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

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

6 (1) National Health and Nutrition Examination 

7 Surveys (1976–1980 and 2003–2006) conducted for 

8 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

9 show that obesity prevalence increased from 5.0 per10 cent to 12.4 percent in children aged 2 to 5 years, 

11 from 6.5 percent to 17.0 percent in those aged 6– 

12 11 years and from 5.0 percent to 17.6 percent in 

13 those aged 12 to 19 years. 

14 (2) A 2007 Department of Agriculture School 

15 Nutrition Dietary study found that an estimated 70 

16 percent of schools serve meals that exceed rec17 ommended levels of saturated fat, which is linked to 

18 heart disease and other obesity-related chronic dis19 eases, such as diabetes and some cancers. 

20 (3) The Centers for Disease Control and Pre21 vention predicts one in three children born in the 

22 year 2000 will develop diabetes in his or her life. 

23 (4) A Yale University study of overweight and 

24 obese children found higher than normal blood 

25 sugar. Twenty-five percent of children age 4 to 10 


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1 had impaired glucose tolerance, suggesting diabetes 

2 may soon occur. 

3 (5) Healthy school meals are essential for pro4 tecting children from weight problems and other 

5 diet-related conditions; meals too high in fat and cal6 ories are found to contribute to weight and health 

7 problems. 

8 (6) The Department of Agriculture’s National 

9 Nutrient Database lists vegetables, fruits, whole 

10 grains, and legumes as being extremely low in satu11 rated fat and containing no cholesterol. 

12 (7) The American Medical Association and the 

13 American Public Health Association have passed 

14 resolutions calling for plant-based foods including 

15 vegetables, fruits, legumes, grains, and healthful 

16 dairy alternative beverages to be included in school 

17 meals. 

18 (8) A rapidly increasing number of families in 

19 the United States opt for plant-based meals for 

20 health, ethical, or religious reasons. 

21 (9) The July 2009 Journal of the American Di22 etetic Association published an official position paper 

23 of the American Dietetic Association which con24 cluded that plant-based diets are nutritionally ade25 quate for everyone, including children, and provide 


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1 health benefits when compared to other eating pat2 terns. 

3 (10) Studies have shown that the bioavailability 

4 of calcium from soymilk fortified with calcium car5 bonate is equivalent to cow’s milk. 

6 (11) The Department of Agriculture includes 

7 fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes in its 

8 commodities program, but these essential ingredients 

9 to healthy meals are often underutilized or unavail10 able to many schools. 

11 (12) Access to healthful plant-based school 

12 lunch options is essential to improving the health of 

13 America’s children. 

14 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to improve 

15 the health of America’s schoolchildren by raising the nutri16 tional quality of food through the promotion of plant17 based meals and healthful dairy alternative beverages in 

18 schools. 

19 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

20 In this Act: 

21 (1) PLANT-BASED ALTERNATE PROTEIN PROD22 UCT.—The term ‘‘plant-based alternate protein 

23 product’’ means an alternate protein product that— 

24 (A) meets the nutritional requirements de25 scribed in appendix A to part 210 of title 7 of 


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1 the Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on 

2 the date of the enactment of this Act); and 

3 (B) contains no animal-based foods, prod4 ucts, or byproducts. 

5 (2) PLANT-BASED MEAT ALTERNATE.—The 

6 term ‘‘plant-based meat alternate’’ means a meat al7 ternate that— 

8 (A) meets the nutritional requirements de9 scribed in paragraph (k)(1) of part 210.10 of 

10 title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations (as 

11 in effect on the date of the enactment of this 

12 Act); and 

13 (B) contains no animal-based foods, prod14 ucts, or byproducts. 

15 (3) PLANT-BASED ENTREE.—The term ‘‘plant16 based entree’’ means a combination of foods or a 

17 single food item offered as a main course that— 

18 (A) meets the nutritional requirements de19 scribed in part 210.10 of title 7 of the Code of 

20 Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date of 

21 the enactment of this Act) as a meat alternate 

22 for food-based menu planning or protein re23 quirement for nutrient-based menu planning for 

24 lunches that are reimbursable under the RichVerDate Nov 24 2008 22:29 Mar 18, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4870.IH H4870

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1 ard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (20 

2 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.); and 

3 (B) contains no animal-based foods, prod4 ucts, or byproducts. 

5 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

6 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

7 (5) SUBSTITUTE FOR FLUID MILK.—The term 

8 ‘‘substitute for fluid milk’’ means a nondairy fluid 

9 milk that is nutritionally equivalent to fluid dairy 

10 milk and meets the nutritional standards established 

11 by the Secretary, which shall include fortification of 

12 calcium, 6 or more grams of protein per 8-ounce 

13 serving, vitamin A, vitamin D, magnesium, phos14 phorus, potassium, riboflavin, and vitamin B12 to 

15 levels found in fluid dairy milk. 

16 SEC. 4. HEALTHY SCHOOL MEALS PILOT PROGRAM. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after the 

18 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall se19 lect school food authorities to participate in a pilot pro20 gram that evaluates the use of plant-based alternate pro21 tein products and substitute for fluid milk products under 

22 the school meal programs under the Richard B. Russell 

23 National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) and 

24 section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 

25 1773). 


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1 (b) SELECTION AND PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.— 

2 (1) SELECTION REQUIREMENTS.—The Sec3 retary shall select school food authorities to partici4 pate in the pilot program under this section that are 

5 nationally representative of school food authorities in 

6 terms of size, geographic location, and socioeconomic 

7 levels of students served. 

8 (2) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—In addition to 

9 the commodities delivered under section 6(b) of the 

10 Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 

11 U.S.C. 1755(b)), the Secretary shall deliver to the 

12 school food authorities selected to participate in the 

13 pilot program under this section, at no cost to the 

14 school food authorities, plant-based alternate protein 

15 products and substitute for fluid milk products for 

16 schools under the jurisdiction of such school food au17 thorities for the preparation of daily meals under— 

18 (A) the school lunch program under the 

19 Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act 

20 (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.); and 

21 (B) the school breakfast program under 

22 section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 

23 (42 U.S.C. 1773). 

24 (c) EVALUATION.—Not later than 24 months after 

25 the date of the enactment of this Act the Secretary shall 


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1 evaluate the pilot program conducted under this section 

2 to assess— 

3 (1) which plant-based alternate protein prod4 ucts and substitute for fluid milk products are supe5 rior with regard to— 

6 (A) cost-effectiveness; 

7 (B) marketability to school food authori8 ties; 

9 (C) ease of preparation and use; and 

10 (D) acceptance by children participating in 

11 the school meal programs under the Richard B. 

12 Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 

13 1751 et seq.) and section 4 of the Child Nutri14 tion Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773). 

15 (2) any other factors and outcomes associated 

16 with increasing the availability of plant-based alter17 nate protein products and substitute for fluid milk 

18 products in schools, as determined by the Secretary. 

19 (d) FUNDS.—Not later than October 15, 2011, out 

20 of the funds in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, 

21 the Secretary of Treasury shall transfer to the Secretary 

22 of Agriculture $4,000,000 to carry out this section. The 

23 Secretary of Agriculture shall be entitled to receive the 

24 funds and shall accept the funds, without further appro25 priation. 


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1 SEC. 5. PURCHASE OF PLANT-BASED COMMODITIES. 

2 (a) PURCHASE OF PLANT-BASED COMMODITIES.— 

3 Not later than 24 months after the date of the enactment 

4 of this Act, in addition to the commodities delivered under 

5 section 6(b) of the Richard B. Russell National School 

6 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1755(b)), the Secretary shall de7 liver plant-based alternate protein products and substitute 

8 for fluid milk products that are determined to be superior 

9 according to the findings of the evaluation conducted 

10 under section 4(c) for use in— 

11 (1) the school lunch program under the Richard 

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

13 1751 et seq.); and 

14 (2) the school breakfast program under section 

15 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 

16 1773). 

17 (b) TRAINING.—The Secretary shall provide training 

18 materials to schools and school food authorities on the nu19 tritional benefits and preparation of plant-based meat al20 ternates and alternate protein product commodities for 

21 schoolchildren. 

22 SEC. 6. COMMODITY ASSISTANCE FOR PLANT-BASED OP23 TIONS. 

24 (a) RULES.—Not later than 24 months after the date 

25 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall promul26 gate rules that— 


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1 (1) based on the most recent Dietary Guidelines 

2 published under section 301 of the National Nutri3 tion Monitoring and Related Research Act of 1990 

4 (7 U.S.C. 5341), reflect specific recommendations, 

5 expressed in serving recommendations, for increased 

6 consumption of plant-based foods, including plant7 based meat alternates and plant-based entrees, in 

8 school nutrition programs under the Richard B. 

9 Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 

10 et seq.) and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 

11 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.); and 

12 (2) provide for the distribution— 

13 (A) to any school food authority in which 

14 at least two-thirds of the students served by the 

15 authority are offered a plant-based entree as a 

16 menu item on each daily school lunch menu, 

17 supplemental commodity assistance or cash in 

18 lieu thereof under section 14 of the Richard B. 

19 Russell National School Lunch Act 42 U.S.C. 

20 1762a) that— 

21 (i) is not less than 25 percent of the 

22 total commodity assistance or cash in lieu 

23 thereof provided to the school food author24 ity during the preceding school year; and 


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1 (ii) shall be used by the authority to 

2 purchase entirely plant-based commodity 

3 food products or substitute for fluid milk 

4 products; 

5 (B) to each State educational agency in 

6 which a school food authority receives supple7 mental commodity assistance or cash in lieu 

8 thereof pursuant to paragraph (1), not more 

9 than 5 percent of such assistance or cash; and 

10 (C) of increased levels of supplemental 

11 commodity assistance or cash in lieu thereof to 

12 school food authorities pursuant to paragraph 

13 (1) as school food authorities increase the num14 ber of students who are offered a plant-based 

15 entree as a menu item on each daily school 

16 lunch menu. 

17 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

18 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

19 necessary to carry out this section. 

20 SEC. 7. SUBSTITUTE FOR FLUID MILK. 

21 (a) AMENDMENTS.—Section 9(a)(2) of the Richard 

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

23 1958(a)(2)(A)) is amended to read as follows: 

24 ‘‘(2) FLUID MILK.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Lunches served by 

2 schools participating in the school lunch pro3 gram under this Act— 

4 ‘‘(i) shall offer students fluid milk in 

5 a variety of fat contents; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) may offer students flavored and 

7 unflavored fluid milk, lactose-free fluid 

8 milk, and a nondairy substitute for fluid 

9 milk. 

10 ‘‘(B) SUBSTITUTES.— 

11 ‘‘(i) STANDARDS FOR SUBSTI12 TUTION.—A school shall substitute for the 

13 fluid milk provided under subparagraph 

14 (A)(i), a nondairy beverage that is nutri15 tionally equivalent to fluid milk and meets 

16 nutritional standards established by the 

17 Secretary (which shall, among other re18 quirements to be determined by the Sec19 retary, include fortification of calcium, vi20 tamin A, vitamin D, magnesium, phos21 phorus, potassium, riboflavin, and vitamin 

22 B12 to levels found in fluid dairy milk, 

23 and not less than 6 grams of protein per 

24 8-ounce serving) for students who cannot 


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1 consume fluid milk because of a disability 

2 or medical or other special dietary need. 

3 ‘‘(ii) EXCESS EXPENSES BORNE BY

4 SCHOOL FOOD AUTHORITY.—Expenses in5 curred in providing substitutions under 

6 this subparagraph that are in excess of ex7 penses covered by reimbursements under 

8 this chapter shall be paid by the school 

9 food authority.’’. 

10 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

11 subsection (a) shall take effect not later than 24 months 

12 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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