II 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3123 

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

the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out a program to assist eligible 

schools and nonprofit entities through grants and technical assistance 

to implement farm to school programs that improve access to local 

foods in eligible schools. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 16, 2010 

Mr. LEAHY (for himself, Mr. SPECTER, Mr. HARKIN, Mr. BENNET, Mrs. 

SHAHEEN, Mr. CASEY, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. BROWN

of Ohio, Mr. UDALL of New Mexico, Mr. DURBIN, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. 

SCHUMER, and Mr. SANDERS) introduced the following bill; which was 

read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 

Forestry 

A BILL 

To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch 

Act to require the Secretary of Agriculture to carry 

out a program to assist eligible schools and nonprofit 

entities through grants and technical assistance to implement farm to school programs that improve access to 

local foods in eligible schools. 

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 ‘‘Growing Farm to 

3 School Programs Act of 2010’’. 

4 SEC. 2. ACCESS TO LOCAL FOODS: FARM TO SCHOOL PRO5 GRAM. 

6 Section 18 of the Richard B. Russell National School 

7 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769) is amended— 

8 (1) by redesignating subsections (h) and (i) as 

9 subsections (i) and (j), respectively; 

10 (2) in subsection (g), by striking ‘‘(g) ACCESS

11 TO LOCAL FOODS AND SCHOOL GARDENS.—’’ and 

12 all that follows through ‘‘(3) PILOT PROGRAM FOR

13 HIGH-POVERTY SCHOOLS.—’’ and inserting the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(g) ACCESS TO LOCAL FOODS: FARM TO SCHOOL

16 PROGRAM.— 

17 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE SCHOOL.—In 

18 this subsection, the term ‘eligible school’ means a 

19 school or institution that participates in a program 

20 under this Act or the school breakfast program es21 tablished under section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act 

22 of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773). 

23 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall carry out 

24 a program to assist eligible schools, State and local 

25 agencies, Indian tribal organizations, agricultural 

26 producers or groups of agricultural producers, and 


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1 nonprofit entities through grants and technical as2 sistance to implement farm to school programs that 

3 improve access to local foods in eligible schools. 

4 ‘‘(3) GRANTS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

6 award competitive grants under this subsection 

7 to be used for— 

8 ‘‘(i) training; 

9 ‘‘(ii) supporting operations; 

10 ‘‘(iii) planning; 

11 ‘‘(iv) purchasing equipment; 

12 ‘‘(v) developing school gardens; 

13 ‘‘(vi) developing partnerships; and 

14 ‘‘(vii) implementing farm to school 

15 programs. 

16 ‘‘(B) REGIONAL BALANCE.—In making 

17 awards under this subsection, the Secretary 

18 shall, to the maximum extent practicable, en19 sure— 

20 ‘‘(i) geographical diversity; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) equitable treatment of urban, 

22 rural, and tribal communities. 

23 ‘‘(C) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The total 

24 amount provided to a grant recipient under this 

25 subsection shall not exceed $100,000. 


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1 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Federal share of 

3 costs for a project funded through a grant 

4 awarded under this subsection shall not exceed 

5 75 percent of the total cost of the project. 

6 ‘‘(B) FEDERAL MATCHING.—As a condi7 tion of receiving a grant under this subsection, 

8 a grant recipient shall provide matching sup9 port in the form of cash or in-kind contribu10 tions, including facilities, equipment, or services 

11 provided by State and local governments, non12 profit organizations, and private sources. 

13 ‘‘(5) CRITERIA FOR SELECTION.—To the max14 imum extent practicable, in providing assistance 

15 under this subsection, the Secretary shall give the 

16 highest priority to funding projects that, as deter17 mined by the Secretary— 

18 ‘‘(A) benefit local small- and medium-sized 

19 farms; 

20 ‘‘(B) make local food products available on 

21 the menu of the eligible school; 

22 ‘‘(C) serve a high proportion of children 

23 who are eligible for free or reduced price 

24 lunches; 


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1 ‘‘(D) incorporate experiential nutrition 

2 education activities in curriculum planning that 

3 encourage the participation of school children in 

4 farm and garden-based agricultural education 

5 activities; 

6 ‘‘(E) demonstrate collaboration between el7 igible schools, nongovernmental and community8 based organizations, agricultural producer 

9 groups, and other community partners; 

10 ‘‘(F) include adequate and participatory 

11 evaluation plans; 

12 ‘‘(G) demonstrate the potential for long13 term program sustainability; and 

14 ‘‘(H) meet any other criteria that the Sec15 retary determines appropriate. 

16 ‘‘(6) EVALUATION.—As a condition of receiving 

17 a grant under this subsection, each grant recipient 

18 shall agree to cooperate in an evaluation by the Sec19 retary of the program carried out using grant funds. 

20 ‘‘(7) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 

21 shall provide technical assistance and information to 

22 assist eligible schools, State and local agencies, In23 dian tribal organizations, and nonprofit entities— 

24 ‘‘(A) to facilitate the coordination and 

25 sharing of information and resources in the DeVerDate Nov 24 2008 03:42 Mar 17, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3123.IS S3123

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1 partment that may be applicable to the farm to 

2 school program; 

3 ‘‘(B) to collect and share information on 

4 best practices; and 

5 ‘‘(C) to disseminate research and data on 

6 existing farm to school programs and the poten7 tial for programs in underserved areas. 

8 ‘‘(8) FUNDING.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—On October 1, 2010, 

10 out of any funds in the Treasury not otherwise 

11 appropriated, the Secretary of the Treasury 

12 shall transfer to the Secretary to carry out this 

13 subsection $50,000,000, to remain available 

14 until expended. 

15 ‘‘(B) RECEIPT AND ACCEPTANCE.—The 

16 Secretary shall be entitled to receive, shall ac17 cept, and shall use to carry out this subsection 

18 the funds transferred under subparagraph (A), 

19 without further appropriation. 

20 ‘‘(h) PILOT PROGRAM FOR HIGH-POVERTY

21 SCHOOLS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—’’; and 

23 (3) in subsection (h) (as redesignated by para24 graph (2))— 


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1 (A) in subparagraph (F) of paragraph (1) 

2 (as so redesignated), by striking ‘‘in accordance 

3 with paragraph (1)(H)’’ and inserting ‘‘carried 

4 out by the Secretary’’; and 

5 (B) by redesignating paragraph (4) as 

6 paragraph (2). 

7 SEC. 3. BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 

8 The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 

9 complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 

10 shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 

11 titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this 

12 Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 

13 by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, pro14 vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 

15 vote on passage. 

Æ 


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