II 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3144 

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

the health and well-being of school children, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 18, 2010 

Mrs. BOXER (for herself and Mrs. HAGAN) 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 improve the health and well-being of school children, 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 ‘‘Healthy Food in 

5 Schools Act of 2010’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

7 The purpose of this Act is to establish a national 

8 strategy to improve the nutritional quality of meals served 

9 by schools participating in the national school lunch and 


smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 3144 IS

1 breakfast programs by increasing access to and the con2 sumption of fruits and vegetables by children enrolled in 

3 the schools through— 

4 (1) promoting the use of salad bars or fruit and 

5 vegetable bars as a strategy to increase the fruit and 

6 vegetable consumption of children; 

7 (2) expanding the quantity of fruits and vegeta8 bles purchased by the Secretary for use in school 

9 meals, emphasizing fruits and vegetables that are 

10 popular with students; 

11 (3) implementing effective training and tech12 nical assistance emphasizing best practices that— 

13 (A) improve the implementation of the 

14 fresh fruit and vegetable program under section 

15 19 of the Richard B. Russell National School 

16 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769a); and 

17 (B) increase the availability and consump18 tion of fruits and vegetables in school meals; 

19 (4) purchasing cafeteria equipment specifically 

20 intended— 

21 (A) to increase access to fruits and vegeta22 bles; 

23 (B) to improve the quality of school food 

24 service meals; and 


smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 3144 IS

1 (C) to meet the most recent Dietary 

2 Guidelines for Americans published under sec3 tion 301 of the National Nutrition Monitoring 

4 and Related Research Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 

5 5341); and 

6 (5) improving the quality of school meals. 

7 SEC. 3. DEFINITION. 

8 In this Act, the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Sec9 retary of Agriculture. 

10 SEC. 4. INCREASING ACCESS TO FRUITS AND VEGETABLES 

11 IN SCHOOL CAFETERIAS. 

12 Section 18 of the Richard B. Russell National School 

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

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

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

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

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

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

19 HIGH-POVERTY SCHOOLS.—’’ and inserting the fol20 lowing: 

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

22 PROGRAM.— 

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

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

25 school or institution that participates in a program 


smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 3144 IS

1 under this Act or the school breakfast program es2 tablished under section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act 

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

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

5 a program to assist eligible schools, State and local 

6 agencies, Indian tribal organizations, agricultural 

7 producers or groups of agricultural producers, and 

8 nonprofit entities through grants and technical as9 sistance to implement farm to school programs that 

10 improve access to local foods in eligible schools. 

11 ‘‘(3) GRANTS.— 

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

13 award competitive grants under this subsection 

14 to be used for— 

15 ‘‘(i) training; 

16 ‘‘(ii) supporting operations; 

17 ‘‘(iii) planning; 

18 ‘‘(iv) purchasing equipment; 

19 ‘‘(v) developing school gardens; 

20 ‘‘(vi) developing partnerships; and 

21 ‘‘(vii) implementing farm to school 

22 programs. 

23 ‘‘(B) REGIONAL BALANCE.—In making 

24 awards under this subsection, the Secretary 


smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 3144 IS

1 shall, to the maximum extent practicable, en2 sure— 

3 ‘‘(i) geographical diversity; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) equitable treatment of urban, 

5 rural, and tribal communities. 

6 ‘‘(C) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The total 

7 amount provided to a grant recipient under this 

8 subsection shall not exceed $100,000. 

9 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

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

11 costs for a project funded through a grant 

12 awarded under this subsection shall not exceed 

13 75 percent of the total cost of the project. 

14 ‘‘(B) FEDERAL MATCHING.—As a condi15 tion of receiving a grant under this subsection, 

16 a grant recipient shall provide matching sup17 port in the form of cash or in-kind contribu18 tions, including facilities, equipment, or services 

19 provided by State and local governments, non20 profit organizations, and private sources. 

21 ‘‘(5) CRITERIA FOR SELECTION.—To the max22 imum extent practicable, in providing assistance 

23 under this subsection, the Secretary shall give the 

24 highest priority to funding projects that, as deter25 mined by the Secretary— 


smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 3144 IS

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

2 farms; 

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

4 the menu of the eligible school; 

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

6 who are eligible for free or reduced price 

7 lunches; 

8 ‘‘(D) incorporate experiential nutrition 

9 education activities in curriculum planning that 

10 encourage the participation of school children in 

11 farm and garden-based agricultural education 

12 activities; 

13 ‘‘(E) demonstrate collaboration between el14 igible schools, nongovernmental and community15 based organizations, agricultural producer 

16 groups, and other community partners; 

17 ‘‘(F) include adequate and participatory 

18 evaluation plans; 

19 ‘‘(G) demonstrate the potential for long20 term program sustainability; and 

21 ‘‘(H) meet any other criteria that the Sec22 retary determines appropriate. 

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

24 a grant under this subsection, each grant recipient 


smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 3144 IS

1 shall agree to cooperate in an evaluation by the Sec2 retary of the program carried out using grant funds. 

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

4 shall provide technical assistance and information to 

5 assist eligible schools, State and local agencies, In6 dian tribal organizations, and nonprofit entities— 

7 ‘‘(A) to facilitate the coordination and 

8 sharing of information and resources in the De9 partment that may be applicable to the farm to 

10 school program; 

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

12 best practices; and 

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

14 existing farm to school programs and the poten15 tial for programs in underserved areas. 

16 ‘‘(8) FUNDING.— 

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

18 out of any funds in the Treasury not otherwise 

19 appropriated, the Secretary of the Treasury 

20 shall transfer to the Secretary to carry out this 

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

22 until expended. 

23 ‘‘(B) RECEIPT AND ACCEPTANCE.—The 

24 Secretary shall be entitled to receive, shall ac25 cept, and shall use to carry out this subsection 


smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 3144 IS

1 the funds transferred under subparagraph (A), 

2 without further appropriation. 

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

4 SCHOOLS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—’’; 

6 (3) in subsection (h) (as redesignated by para7 graph (2))— 

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

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

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

11 out by the Secretary’’; and 

12 (B) by redesignating paragraph (4) as 

13 paragraph (2); and 

14 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(k) ESTABLISHING SALAD BARS AND FRUIT AND

16 VEGETABLE BARS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days 

18 after the date of enactment of the Healthy Food in 

19 Schools Act of 2010, the Secretary shall carry out 

20 a plan to promote the use of salad bars or fruit and 

21 vegetable bars in schools participating in the school 

22 lunch program established under this Act (referred 

23 to in this subsection as ‘the plan’). 

24 ‘‘(2) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 


smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 3144 IS

1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the 

2 plan, the Secretary shall provide training and 

3 technical assistance to State educational agen4 cies and schools on the best manner in which to 

5 offer salad bars or fruit and vegetable bars. 

6 ‘‘(B) COMPREHENSIVE GUIDANCE.—In 

7 providing the training and technical assistance 

8 described in subparagraph (A), the Secretary 

9 may use relevant guidance provided in the pub10 lication of the Secretary entitled ‘Fruits and 

11 Vegetables Galore: Helping Kids Eat More’ and 

12 dated 2004. 

13 ‘‘(3) INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the 

15 plan, the Secretary shall develop a program to 

16 provide grants to State educational agencies to 

17 encourage schools to purchase equipment and 

18 modify facilities for the purpose of setting up 

19 and operating salad bars or fruit and vegetable 

20 bars. 

21 ‘‘(B) ALLOCATION TO STATE EDU22 CATIONAL AGENCIES.— 

23 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

24 shall allocate funds to each State eduVerDate Nov 24 2008 01:23 Mar 19, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3144.IS S3144

smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 3144 IS

1 cational agency in accordance with a for2 mula developed by the Secretary. 

3 ‘‘(ii) UNUSED FUNDS.—The formula 

4 developed in accordance with clause (i) 

5 shall provide for the reallocation of unused 

6 funds after the end of each fiscal year. 

7 ‘‘(C) APPLICATION.—To receive a grant 

8 under this subsection, a State educational agen9 cy shall submit to the Secretary an application 

10 at such time, in such manner, and containing 

11 such information as the Secretary may require. 

12 ‘‘(D) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY RE13 QUIRED USES OF FUNDS.—As a condition on 

14 the receipt of a grant under this subsection, 

15 each State educational agency that receives a 

16 grant shall agree— 

17 ‘‘(i) to use the grant funds to award 

18 schools in the State educational agency a 

19 1-time payment equal to the lesser of— 

20 ‘‘(I) the anticipated cost of set21 ting up and operating a salad bar or 

22 fruit and vegetable bar; and 

23 ‘‘(II) $7,500; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) to impose appropriate auditing 

25 and reporting requirements and such other 


smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 3144 IS

1 procedures as the Secretary may require to 

2 ensure that— 

3 ‘‘(I) schools receiving a grant 

4 under this subsection properly use the 

5 funds; and 

6 ‘‘(II) the agency recovers any un7 used funds. 

8 ‘‘(4) EVALUATION AND REPORT.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 

10 months after the implementation of the plan, 

11 the Secretary shall submit a report to— 

12 ‘‘(i) the Committee on Appropriations 

13 and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutri14 tion, and Forestry, of the Senate; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) the Committee on Education and 

16 Labor, the Committee on Agriculture, and 

17 the Committee on Appropriations, of the 

18 House of Representatives. 

19 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—The report submitted 

20 under subparagraph (A) shall include a descrip21 tion of— 

22 ‘‘(i) the manner in which the plan has 

23 been implemented; and 


smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 3144 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) the number of schools that have 

2 new salad bars or fruit and vegetable bars 

3 as a result of the plan. 

4 ‘‘(5) FUNDING.— 

5 ‘‘(A) MANDATORY FUNDING.—On October 

6 1, 2010, and October 1, 2011, out of any funds 

7 in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the 

8 Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer to the 

9 Secretary to carry out this section $10,000,000, 

10 to remain available until expended. 

11 ‘‘(B) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA12 TIONS.—In addition to the amounts provided 

13 under subparagraph (A), there are authorized 

14 to be appropriated to carry out this subsection 

15 such sums as are necessary, to remain available 

16 until expended.’’. 

17 SEC. 5. IDENTIFYING AND REMOVING BARRIERS TO THE 

18 PURCHASE OF PERISHABLE FRUITS AND 

19 VEGETABLES. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

21 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall carry 

22 out a plan to identify and remove barriers to the equitable 

23 purchase of fruits and vegetables in the procurement and 

24 distribution systems administered by the Secretary, acting 


smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 3144 IS

1 through the Administrator of the Agricultural Marketing 

2 Service.

3 (b) PROCUREMENT AND DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS IN4 CLUDED.—In developing the plan under subsection (a), 

5 the Secretary shall identify and remove barriers to the eq6 uitable purchase of fruits and vegetables at all levels of 

7 the procurement and distribution systems, including any 

8 barriers related to the initial surveys, bidding, transpor9 tation, handling, storage, and delivery to schools. 

10 (c) EVALUATION AND REPORT.—Not later than 1 

11 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec12 retary shall submit to the appropriate committees of Con13 gress a report containing recommendations to reduce or 

14 eliminate the barriers identified under subsection (a). 

15 SEC. 6. BEST PRACTICES TO IMPROVE EFFECTIVENESS OF 

16 FRESH FRUIT AND VEGETABLE PROGRAM. 

17 Section 19(i)(6) of the Richard B. Russell National 

18 School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769a(i)(6)) is amended by 

19 striking subparagraph (A) and inserting the following: 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Of funds made avail21 able to carry out this section for a fiscal year, 

22 the Secretary may use not more than $500,000 

23 for the administrative costs of carrying out the 

24 program, including— 


smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
14 

•S 3144 IS

1 ‘‘(i) carrying out national and regional 

2 training conferences that emphasize shar3 ing best practices, including conferences 

4 intended to increase access to fresh fruits 

5 and vegetables in other school meals pro6 grams; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) providing technical assistance.’’. 

8 SEC. 7. IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF SCHOOL MEALS. 

9 Not later than October 20, 2011, the Secretary shall 

10 promulgate a final rule updating the nutrition standards 

11 and meal requirements for school meal programs in a 

12 manner consistent with the findings of the review con13 ducted by the Institute of Medicine and published in the 

14 document entitled ‘‘School Meals: Building Blocks for 

15 Healthy Children’’ and dated October 20, 2009. 

16 SEC. 8. EQUIPMENT ASSISTANCE GRANTS. 

17 (a) DEFINITION OF EQUIPMENT.—In this section, 

18 the term ‘‘equipment’’ means any equipment needed to 

19 prepare, process, and store food for the school lunch pro20 gram established under the Richard B. Russell National 

21 School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.). 

22 (b) GRANTS.—From the amounts made available 

23 under subsection (g), the Secretary shall provide funds to 

24 States in accordance with the allocation formula described 

25 in subsection (d). 


smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
15 

•S 3144 IS

1 (c) PURPOSE.—As a condition on the receipt of 

2 funds, each State that receives funds under this section 

3 shall award grants on a competitive basis to school food 

4 authorities to assist with the purchase of equipment for 

5 schools participating in the school lunch program estab6 lished under the Richard B. Russell National School 

7 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.). 

8 (d) ALLOCATION FORMULA.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—From the amounts made 

10 available under subsection (g), the Secretary shall 

11 allocate funds to States in a manner proportional 

12 with the administrative expense allocation of each 

13 State under section 7(a)(2) of the Child Nutrition 

14 Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1776(a)(2)). 

15 (2) REALLOCATION.—If a State does not re16 ceive funds under this subsection, the Secretary shall 

17 reallocate the funds that would have been allocated 

18 to that State to other States in such amounts as the 

19 Secretary determines appropriate. 

20 (e) APPLICATIONS.— 

21 (1) STATES.—To be eligible to receive funding 

22 under this section, a State shall submit an applica23 tion to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, 

24 and containing such information as the Secretary 

25 may require. 


smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
16 

•S 3144 IS

1 (2) SCHOOL FOOD AUTHORITIES.—To be eligi2 ble to receive a grant described in subsection (c), a 

3 school food authority shall submit an application to 

4 the applicable State at such time, in such manner, 

5 and containing such information as the State may 

6 require, including assurances that the school food 

7 authority serves schools that have a need for equip8 ment assistance. 

9 (f) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants described in sub10 section (c), a State shall give priority to school food au11 thorities that have jurisdiction over schools in which not 

12 less than 50 percent of the students are eligible for free 

13 or reduced price lunches under the school lunch program 

14 established under Richard B. Russell National School 

15 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.). 

16 (g) FUNDING.—On October 1, 2010, out of any funds 

17 in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the Secretary 

18 of the Treasury shall transfer to the Secretary to carry 

19 out this section $100,000,000, to remain available until 

20 expended. 

21 SEC. 9. BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 

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

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

24 shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 

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


smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
17 

•S 3144 IS

1 Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 

2 by the Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, pro3 vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 

4 vote on passage. 

Æ 


smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS