Scratch Cooked Meals for Students Act

To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to establish a pilot program promoting scratch cooking in school meal programs. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Scratch Cooked Meals for Students Act 2. Pilot program for grants promoting scratch cooking in school meal programs Section 18 of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1769 (a) Scratch cooking pilot program (1) In general (A) Establishment Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this subsection, the Secretary shall establish a pilot program to award competitive grants to school food authorities and local educational agencies to promote scratch cooking. (B) Scratch cooking defined In this subsection, the term scratch cooking (2) Grant amounts and duration A grant awarded under this subsection shall be made— (A) for a period of 2 school years; and (B) in 1 installment in the first school year and 1 installment in the second school year, with each such installment equal to or less than $100,000. (3) Eligible uses A grant awarded under this subsection shall be used by a school food authority or local educational agency to promote scratch cooking, which may include— (A) promoting professional development and training related to preparing, procuring, advertising, serving, and creating menus of meals made with scratch cooking; (B) purchasing cafeteria equipment or making infrastructure modifications necessary for scratch cooking; (C) employee compensation for additional food preparation necessary for scratch cooking; and (D) providing technical assistance, pupil engagement, and education related to scratch cooking, such as taste tests, recipe development, and culinary education. (4) Priority In evaluating grant applications under this subsection, the Secretary shall give the highest priority to school food authorities and local educational agencies that— (A) serve the greatest proportion of students eligible for free or reduced price lunch under this Act; (B) are— (i) self-operated; or (ii) provide an assurance to the Secretary that the school food authority or local educational agency will be self-operated on or before the date that is 1 year before the last day of the grant period; and (C) either— (i) have employees who are represented by a collective bargaining agreement or memorandum of understanding; or (ii) provide an assurance to the Secretary that the school food authority or local educational agency will, with respect to the employees of such school food authority or local educational agency, negotiate a collective bargaining agreement or memorandum of understanding on or before the date that is 1 year before the last day of the grant period. (5) Technical assistance (A) In general The Secretary shall enter into an agreement with one or more nonprofit organizations to establish and carry out a technical assistance and resource center to provide technical assistance with respect to carrying out subparagraphs (A) through (C) of paragraph (3). (B) Collaboration requirement As soon as practicable after receiving a grant under this subsection, a school food authority or local educational agency shall collaborate with the technical assistance and resource center established under subparagraph (A) to— (i) conduct a needs assessment to evaluate equipment needs, equipment utilization, procurement processes, and workforce capabilities of the school food authority or local educational agency; and (ii) based on such needs assessment, establish a strategic plan to carry out the grant under this subsection. (6) Reporting requirements Each school food authority and local educational agency that receives a grant under this subsection shall report to the Secretary at the end of the grant period— (A) the change, from the beginning of the grant period, in the overall percentage of the 20 most expensive procurement items with whole ingredients, raw ingredients, or both; (B) the change, from the beginning of the grant period, in the overall percentage of procured food items that are locally procured; (C) the change, from the beginning of the grant period, in the overall percentage of menu items in a 4-week menu cycle prepared with scratch cooking; (D) the change, from the beginning of the grant period, in the overall percentage of packaging that is single-serve packaging; (E) the change, from the beginning of the grant period, to overall culinary, fiscal, procurement, and management operations; and (F) the change, from the beginning of the grant period, in the overall percentage of students who participate in the school lunch program under this Act. (7) Authorization of appropriations (A) In general There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection $20,000,000 for the first fiscal year beginning after the date of the enactment of this subsection and for each of the four subsequent fiscal years. (B) Reservations Of the amounts made available under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall reserve— (i) not more than 15 percent for purposes of carrying out paragraph (5), including administrative expenses; and (ii) not more than 5 percent for other administrative expenses of the Secretary. .

Summary: Scratch Cooked Meals for Students Act This bill establishes a pilot program to award competitive grants to school food authorities and local educational agencies for activities that promote the use of ingredients that are unprocessed or minimally processed (i.e., scratch cooking) in school meals.