SMART Act of 2021
Bill: S.1577 | Sponsor: Sen. Cornyn, John (R-TX)
Policy area: Agriculture and Food

Summary:
Summer Meals Alternative Relief and Transportation Act of 2021 or the SMART Act of 2021
This bill expands the Summer Food Service Program, which provides meals to children and teens in low-income areas during the summer months when school is not in session, to include a home-delivery option in certain states.
Qualifying states must have areas in which meals are inaccessible at program sites and in which electronic benefit transfer funds are not able to be fully used (e.g., due to the distance of eligible retailers). The Department of Agriculture must borrow from similar demonstration projects in its administration of the expanded program (e.g., the Meals-To-You Demonstration Project).

To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to ensure 
   equity for America's children by providing access to summer meals.

    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 ``Summer Meals Alternative Relief and 
Transportation Act of 2021'' or the ``SMART Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. ACCESS TO NUTRITIOUS SUMMER MEALS FOR CHILDREN.

    Section 13(a) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act 
(42 U.S.C. 1761(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(13) Alternative program for meal delivery.--
                    ``(A) Additional service options.--
                            ``(i) In general.--Not later than March, 1, 
                        2022, the Secretary shall establish under the 
                        program additional service options for eligible 
                        States, in accordance with subparagraph (B), 
                        that--
                                    ``(I) allow for the delivery of 
                                meals directly to the residence of an 
                                eligible child; and
                                    ``(II) do not require that an 
                                eligible child arrive to, or be served 
                                a meal at, a specified location other 
                                than the residence of the child.
                            ``(ii) Administration.--In carrying out 
                        clause (i), the Secretary shall borrow from 
                        previously successful demonstration projects 
                        that have delivered nutritious meals, by mail 
                        or other mechanism, to the residences of 
                        children during the summer period.
                    ``(B) Eligible states.--The Secretary shall permit 
                the additional service options established under 
                subparagraph (A)(i) to be carried out by a State 
                participating in the program if the State has 1 or more 
                areas, as determined by the Secretary, in which 
                eligible children are unable--
                            ``(i) to access meals under the program at 
                        congregate feeding sites; and
                            ``(ii) to fully utilize electronic benefit 
                        transfer funds provided to a household for the 
                        purpose of increasing household access to food 
                        for children during the summer months, 
                        including because of the distance and 
                        transportation options available to a retailer 
                        authorized to accept and redeem benefits under 
                        the supplemental nutrition assistance program 
                        established under the Food and Nutrition Act of 
                        2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.).
                    ``(C) Nutritious meals.--The Secretary shall ensure 
                that meals delivered through the additional service 
                options established under subparagraph (A)(i) meet the 
                criteria for nutritious meals under the program, except 
                that the Secretary shall not impose restrictions that 
                would otherwise prevent the delivery of nutritious 
                meals to children under those additional service 
                options.
                    ``(D) Technical assistance and support.--
                            ``(i) Definition of eligible entity.--In 
                        this subparagraph, the term `eligible entity' 
                        means a nonprofit organization or institution 
                        of higher education--
                                    ``(I) that has experience in 
                                delivering nutritious summer meals to 
                                residential homes using mainstream 
                                shipping carriers, in coordination with 
                                service institutions; and
                                    ``(II) that experience of which is 
                                demonstrated in a public report of a 
                                research institution with experience in 
                                domestic feeding programs.
                            ``(ii) Grants and cooperative agreements.--
                        The Secretary shall provide grants to, or enter 
                        into cooperative agreements with, eligible 
                        entities to provide technical assistance, 
                        support, and evaluation to State agencies and 
                        service institutions, in not more than 5 
                        States, carrying out the additional service 
                        options established under subparagraph (A)(i).
                            ``(iii) Subgrants.--An eligible entity that 
                        receives a grant or enters into a cooperative 
                        agreement under clause (ii) may award a 
                        subgrant to another eligible entity in the 
                        State to assist in carrying out the grant or 
                        cooperative agreement.
                            ``(iv) Duration.--A grant or cooperative 
                        agreement under clause (ii) shall be for the 
                        period beginning on the date on which the grant 
                        is awarded or the cooperative agreement is 
                        entered into, as applicable, and ending on the 
                        last day of the third fiscal year that begins 
                        after the date of enactment of the Summer Meals 
                        Alternative Relief and Transportation Act of 
                        2021.
                    ``(E) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the 
                termination of the last grant or cooperative agreement 
                entered into under subparagraph (D)(ii), the Secretary 
                shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture, 
                Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and the Committee 
                on Agriculture of the House of Representatives a report 
                that--
                            ``(i) describes--
                                    ``(I) the use of the alternative 
                                delivery options established under 
                                subparagraph (A)(i); and
                                    ``(II) the impact of those options 
                                on participation in the program;
                            ``(ii) describes the impact of the 
                        technical assistance, support, and evaluation 
                        provided under subparagraph (D) on 
                        participation in the program; and
                            ``(iii) is supported by data from a 
                        research institution or institution of higher 
                        education.
                    ``(F) Authorization of appropriations.--There is 
                authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 
                $10,000,000 to carry out this paragraph.''.
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