I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4379 
To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to require 
the Secretary of Agriculture to make loan guarantees and grants to 
finance certain improvements to school lunch facilities, to train school 
food service personnel, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 9, 2021 
Mr. DESAULNIER (for himself and Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Edu-
cation and Labor, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, and 
Appropriations, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speak-
er, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the ju-
risdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch 
Act to require the Secretary of Agriculture to make 
loan guarantees and grants to finance certain improve-
ments to school lunch facilities, to train school food 
service personnel, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘School Food Mod-
ernization Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. LOAN GUARANTEES AND GRANTS TO FINANCE CER-
TAIN IMPROVEMENTS TO SCHOOL LUNCH FA-
CILITIES. 
The Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act 
is amended by inserting after section 26 (42 U.S.C. 
1769g) the following: 
‘‘SEC. 27. LOAN GUARANTEES AND GRANTS TO FINANCE 
CERTAIN 
IMPROVEMENTS 
TO 
SCHOOL 
LUNCH FACILITIES. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) DURABLE EQUIPMENT.—The term ‘dura-
ble equipment’ means durable food preparation, han-
dling, cooking, serving, and storage equipment great-
er than $500 in value. 
‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en-
tity’ means— 
‘‘(A) a local educational agency or a school 
food authority administering or operating a 
school meal program; 
‘‘(B) a tribal organization; or 
‘‘(C) a consortium that includes a local 
educational agency or school food authority de-
scribed in subparagraph (A), a tribal organiza-
tion, or both. 
‘‘(3) INFRASTRUCTURE.—The term ‘infrastruc-
ture’ means a food storage facility, kitchen, food 
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service facility, cafeteria, dining room, or food prepa-
ration facility. 
‘‘(4) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 
‘local educational agency’ has the meaning given the 
term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec-
ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 
‘‘(5) SCHOOL
FOOD
AUTHORITY.—The term 
‘school food authority’ has the meaning given the 
term in section 210.2 of title 7, Code of Federal 
Regulations (or any successor regulation). 
‘‘(6) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘tribal 
organization’ has the meaning given the term in sec-
tion 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu-
cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 
‘‘(b) LOAN
GUARANTEES
FOR
ASSISTANCE
TO 
SCHOOLS
FOR INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS
AND 
DURABLE
EQUIPMENT
NECESSARY
TO
PROVIDE 
HEALTHY
MEALS
THROUGH
SCHOOL
MEAL
PRO-
GRAMS.— 
‘‘(1) AUTHORITY TO GUARANTEE LOANS.—The 
Secretary shall issue a loan guarantee to an eligible 
lender for purposes of financing the construction, re-
modeling, or expansion of infrastructure or the pur-
chase of durable equipment that the Secretary deter-
mines will assist the eligible entity in providing 
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healthy meals through a school meal program au-
thorized under this Act. 
‘‘(2) PREFERENCES.—In issuing a loan guar-
antee under this subsection, the Secretary shall give 
a preference to an eligible entity that, as compared 
with other eligible entities seeking a loan guarantee 
under this subsection, the Secretary determines 
demonstrates substantial or disproportionate— 
‘‘(A) need for infrastructure improvement; 
or 
‘‘(B) durable equipment need or impair-
ment. 
‘‘(3) 
OVERSIGHT.—The 
Secretary, 
acting 
through the Under Secretary for Rural Develop-
ment, shall establish procedures to oversee any 
project or purchase for which a loan guarantee is 
issued under this subsection. 
‘‘(4) GUARANTEE AMOUNT.—A loan guarantee 
issued under this subsection may not guarantee 
more than 80 percent of the principal amount of the 
loan. 
‘‘(5) FEES AND COSTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 
establish fees for loan guarantees under this 
subsection that are, to the maximum extent 
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practicable, equal to all costs of the loan guar-
antees as determined under the Federal Credit 
Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661 et seq.), as 
determined by the Secretary. 
‘‘(B) FEE
SHORTFALL.—To the extent 
that the Secretary determines that fees de-
scribed in subparagraph (A) are not sufficient 
to pay for all of the costs for the loan guaran-
tees pursuant to the Federal Credit Reform Act 
of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661 et seq.), the Secretary 
may use funds described in paragraph (6) to 
pay for the costs of loan guarantees not paid 
for by the fees. 
‘‘(6) FUNDING.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To provide loan guar-
antees under this subsection, the Secretary 
shall reserve $300,000,000 of the loan guar-
antee authority remaining and unobligated as of 
the date of enactment of the School Food Mod-
ernization Act under the program of community 
facility guaranteed loans under section 306(a) 
of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Develop-
ment Act (7 U.S.C. 1926(a)). 
‘‘(B) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Sec-
retary may use not more than 5 percent of the 
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