Child Nutrition Technical Assistance Act of 2022
Bill: H.R.8486 | Sponsor: Rep. Mrvan, Frank J. (D-IN)
Policy area: Agriculture and Food

Summary:
Child Nutrition Technical Assistance Act of 2022
This bill revises food and nutrition programs of the Department of Agriculture (USDA) by directing USDA to provide for technical assistance relating to nutrition standards for the school meal programs, including by awarding competitive grants to assist food service personnel in meeting the nutrition standards under such programs.

To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to provide 
  for technical assistance relating to nutrition standards for school 
                 meal programs, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Child Nutrition Technical Assistance 
Act of 2022''.

SEC. 2. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR SCHOOL FOOD SERVICE.

    (a) In General.--The Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act 
is amended by inserting after section 21 (42 U.S.C. 1769b-1) the 
following:

``SEC. 21A. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR SCHOOL FOOD SERVICE.

    ``(a) Third Party Technical Assistance Grants.--
            ``(1) Establishment.--The Secretary shall award grants, on 
        a competitive basis, to eligible entities to provide technical 
        assistance to food service personnel to assist such personnel 
        in meeting the nutrition standards for the school lunch program 
        under this Act and the school breakfast program established by 
        section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773).
            ``(2) Eligible entity defined.--In this subsection, the 
        term `eligible entity' means an entity that--
                    ``(A) is--
                            ``(i) a nonprofit organization;
                            ``(ii) a land-grant college and university 
                        or cooperative extension service (as such terms 
                        are defined in section 1404 of the National 
                        Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching 
                        Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103));
                            ``(iii) a technical or vocational school; 
                        or
                            ``(iv) an institution of higher education 
                        (as such term is defined in section 101(a) of 
                        the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
                        1001(a)));
                    ``(B) has demonstrated success in providing, or has 
                capacity for, teaching through online learning, 
                including by--
                            ``(i) providing online courses;
                            ``(ii) using online forums for participant 
                        interaction;
                            ``(iii) using online teaching tools; and
                            ``(iv) providing online educational 
                        content; and
                    ``(C) has experience working with food service 
                personnel that are participating in the school lunch 
                program under this Act and the school breakfast program 
                established by section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 
                1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773).
            ``(3) Regional requirement.--In awarding grants to eligible 
        entities under subsection (a), the Secretary shall select at 
        least 1 eligible entity located in a State in each of the 
        following regions:
                    ``(A) The Mid-Atlantic Region.
                    ``(B) The Midwest Region.
                    ``(C) The Mountain Plains Region.
                    ``(D) The Northeast Region.
                    ``(E) The Southern Region.
                    ``(F) The Southwest Region.
                    ``(G) The Western Region.
            ``(4) Grant uses.--
                    ``(A) In general.--An eligible entity that receives 
                a grant under this subsection shall use such grant 
                funds to provide technical assistance to food service 
                personnel in accordance with subparagraph (B).
                    ``(B) Technical assistance provided.--Technical 
                assistance provided by such eligible entity shall--
                            ``(i) assist food service personnel with 
                        meeting the quantitative recommendations from 
                        the most recent Dietary Guidelines for 
                        Americans published under section 301 of the 
                        National Nutrition Monitoring and Related 
                        Research Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5341);
                            ``(ii) emphasize meeting the nutrition 
                        requirements relating to--
                                    ``(I) sodium;
                                    ``(II) whole grains; and
                                    ``(III) added sugars; and
                            ``(iii) provide--
                                    ``(I) standardized recipes and 
                                menus and assistance with menu 
                                planning;
                                    ``(II) information on procurement 
                                of products that meet the nutrition 
                                standards, including assistance with 
                                vendors, food companies, and bid 
                                preparation;
                                    ``(III) culinary training, food 
                                presentation, and the promotion and 
                                marketing of menu items that support 
                                selection and consumption of such menu 
                                items; and
                                    ``(IV) best practices, trainings 
                                (including peer-to-peer trainings), and 
                                other resources.
    ``(b) Evaluation Grants.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall award grants to 
        eligible entities to evaluate the effectiveness of the 
        technical assistance grants awarded under subsection (a).
            ``(2) Eligible entity defined.--In this subsection, the 
        term `eligible entity' means an entity that--
                    ``(A) is--
                            ``(i) a land-grant college and university 
                        or cooperative extension service (as such terms 
                        are defined in section 1404 of the National 
                        Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching 
                        Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103)); or
                            ``(ii) an institution of higher education 
                        (as such term is defined in section 101(a) of 
                        the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
                        1001(a))); and
                    ``(B) has not received funds under subsection (a).
            ``(3) Application.--An eligible entity seeking a grant 
        under this subsection shall submit to the Secretary an 
        application in such form, at such time, and containing such 
        information as the Secretary determines appropriate.
            ``(4) Evaluations.--Not later than 6 months after the date 
        on which an eligible entity receives a grant under this 
        subsection, such eligible entity shall submit to the Secretary 
        the evaluation described in paragraph (1).
            ``(5) Authorization of appropriations.--There are 
        authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out 
        this subsection $35,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 
        through 2027.
    ``(c) Department of Agriculture Technical Assistance.--
            ``(1) Department of agriculture technical assistance.--The 
        Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) provide technical assistance required under 
                section 9(a)(1)(B) and section 21(b) to schools 
                administering the school lunch program under this Act 
                and the school breakfast program established by section 
                4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773), 
                including by--
                            ``(i) developing and distributing training 
                        and technical assistance material; and
                            ``(ii) working with the school food 
                        industry in meeting the nutrition standards;
                    ``(B) provide technical assistance that conforms 
                with the quantitative recommendations in the most 
                recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans published under 
                section 301 of the National Nutrition Monitoring and 
                Related Research Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5341) and that--
                            ``(i) provides--
                                    ``(I) standardized recipes, menu 
                                cycles, information regarding nutrient 
                                standard menu planning, assisted 
                                nutrient standard menu planning, and 
                                food-based menu planning;
                                    ``(II) information on strong 
                                procurement practices that allow 
                                schools to bid or write specifications 
                                on products that meet the standards;
                                    ``(III) culinary training, food 
                                presentation, and the promotion and 
                                marketing of menu items that support 
                                selection and consumption of such menu 
                                items; and
                                    ``(IV) best practices, trainings 
                                (including peer-to-peer trainings), and 
                                other resources; and
                            ``(ii) supports the implementation of 
                        recognition programs that include or are 
                        similar to the HealthierUS School Challenge; 
                        and
                    ``(C) provide grants to State agencies to provide 
                technical assistance described in this paragraph.
            ``(2) Schools with challenges.--In providing technical 
        assistance under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1), 
        the Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) give priority to schools that have--
                            ``(i) requested technical assistance from 
                        the Department of Agriculture relating to 
                        sodium, whole grains, or added sugars;
                            ``(ii) participated in a technical 
                        assistance program administered by the 
                        Secretary relating to nutrition requirements; 
                        or
                            ``(iii) submitted a waiver relating to the 
                        whole grain-rich requirement; and
                    ``(B) give priority to schools with a certain 
                percentage (as determined by the Secretary) of students 
                receiving free or reduced price meals.
            ``(3) Authorization of appropriations.--There are 
        authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection 
        $35,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027.
    ``(d) Report.--Not later than 5 years after the date of the 
enactment of this section, and every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary 
shall submit to Congress a report that--
            ``(1) describes the technical assistance provided under the 
        programs established under subsections (a) and (c); and
            ``(2) evaluates, including by using data from an evaluation 
        conducted using a grant provided under subsection (b), the 
        extent to which schools that received technical assistance have 
        met the nutrition requirements established by the Secretary 
        pursuant to this Act.''.
    (b) Performance-Based Reimbursement Increase.--Section 4(b)(3) of 
the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1753(b)(3)) 
is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (C)(i), by striking ``6 cents'' and 
        inserting ``10 cents''; and
            (2) in subparagraph (D)--
                    (A) by striking ``To be eligible'' and inserting 
                the following:
                            ``(i) In general.--To be eligible''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(ii) Report.--The Secretary shall make 
                        publicly available on the website of the 
                        Department and update on a quarterly basis a 
                        list of school food authorities certified to be 
                        in compliance in accordance with clause (i).''.
                                 <all>