Title: Meals on Wheels for Kids Act of 2020
Policy area: Agriculture and Food

Summary:
Meals on Wheels for Kids Act of 2020
This bill requires the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to make available an option to states to provide program meals to children through service institutions that provide off-site consumption. USDA must ensure that off-site consumption is only available to a child if they qualify for free or reduced price lunch and breakfast and present certain conditions, including not being able to travel to congregate feeding sites because of distance or concerns for safety.
Additionally, USDA must establish a three-year pilot program to award competitive grants for states to enter into contracts with eligible service institutions to deliver meals during non-school summer months to these children and those who qualify for the summer meals program and live in a rural or hard-to-reach area.
USDA must prioritize applications submitted by eligible service institutions (1) from states with high low-income child populations, or high child populations in rural areas or hard-to-reach areas; or (2) that plan to provide educational enrichment opportunities to children who receive meals under the pilot program.
USDA must provide for an independent study on the impact of such grants on the reduction of hunger and access to meals for children residing in rural or hard-to-reach areas and low-income areas during summer months.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6968 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6968

To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to authorize 
the Secretary of Agriculture to make grants to carry out a food service 
   delivery pilot program for children during the non-school summer 
                    months, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 22, 2020

Mr. Rodney Davis of Illinois (for himself, Mr. Swalwell of California, 
 Mr. Hurd of Texas, Mrs. Hayes, Mr. Young, Mr. Trone, Mr. McCaul, Mr. 
Rush, Mr. Courtney, Mr. Chabot, Mr. Hastings, Mr. Kinzinger, Mrs. Axne, 
 Mr. Carter of Texas, Mr. Vargas, Mrs. Beatty, Mr. Connolly, Mr. Crow, 
Mr. Soto, Mrs. Kirkpatrick, Ms. Norton, and Mr. Allred) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 
                                 Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to authorize 
the Secretary of Agriculture to make grants to carry out a food service 
   delivery pilot program for children during the non-school summer 
                    months, 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 ``Meals on Wheels for Kids Act of 
2020''.

SEC. 2. CONGREGATE MEAL SERVICE REQUIREMENT.

    Section 13 of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 
U.S.C. 1761) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the following:
            ``(13) Off-site consumption.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Beginning not later than 1 year 
                after the date of the enactment of this subparagraph, 
                the Secretary shall make available an option to States 
                to provide program meals to children under this section 
                through service institutions that provide off-site 
                consumption.
                    ``(B) Availability.--In administering this 
                paragraph, the Secretary shall ensure that off-site 
                consumption is only available to a child if--
                            ``(i) the child is determined to be 
                        eligible for a free or reduced price lunch 
                        under this Act and a free or reduced price 
                        breakfast under section 4 of the Child 
                        Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773); and
                            ``(ii) not less than 1 of the conditions 
                        described in subparagraph (C) is present.
                    ``(C) Conditions.--The conditions referred to in 
                subparagraph (B)(ii) are the following:
                            ``(i) The child lives in a rural area or 
                        hard-to-reach area.
                            ``(ii) The child lives in an area in which 
                        poor economic conditions exist.
                            ``(iii) The program is available to the 
                        child at a congregate feeding site but--
                                    ``(I) the site is closed due to 
                                extreme weather conditions;
                                    ``(II) the site is not reasonably 
                                accessible to the child, as determined 
                                by the Secretary;
                                    ``(III) violence or other public 
                                safety concerns in the area prevent the 
                                child from traveling safely to the 
                                site; or
                                    ``(IV) the site is open not more 
                                than 4 days a week.
                    ``(D) Administration.--In administering this 
                paragraph, the Secretary shall ensure that--
                            ``(i) any meal served by a service 
                        institution through off-site consumption meets 
                        the same standards for safety and quality as a 
                        meal served at a congregate feeding site; and
                            ``(ii) each State gives priority to a child 
                        living in an area in which a congregate feeding 
                        site is not reasonably accessible, as 
                        determined by the Secretary.
                    ``(E) Guidance.--Not later than 1 year after the 
                date of the enactment of this subparagraph, the 
                Secretary shall--
                            ``(i) establish guidelines to ensure the 
                        safety of children provided program meals 
                        through off-site consumption; and
                            ``(ii) establish best practices to ensure 
                        the safety of meals served through off-site 
                        consumption.''; and
            (2) in subsection (n)--
                    (A) by striking ``and (6)'' and inserting ``(6)''; 
                and
                    (B) by striking the period at the end and inserting 
                ``; and (7) the plans of the State for using off-site 
                consumption described in subsection (a)(13), if 
                applicable.''.

SEC. 3. FOOD SERVICE DELIVERY PILOT PROGRAM FOR SUMMER MONTHS.

    (a) In General.--Subsection (i) of section 13 of the Richard B. 
Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1761) is amended to read 
as follows:
    ``(i) Food Service Delivery Pilot Program.--
            ``(1) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a pilot 
        program under which the Secretary shall award grants on a 
        competitive basis to States to enter into contracts with 
        eligible service institutions or a consortia of eligible 
        service institutions to deliver meals in accordance with 
        paragraph (5).
            ``(2) Application.--A State seeking a grant under this 
        subsection shall submit an application to the Secretary at such 
        time, in such manner, and containing such information as the 
        Secretary may require.
            ``(3) Priority.--In making grants under this subsection, 
        the Secretary may give priority to applications submitted by 
        eligible service institutions--
                    ``(A) from States with--
                            ``(i) high low-income child populations; or
                            ``(ii) high child populations in rural 
                        areas or hard-to-reach areas; or
                    ``(B) that plans to provide educational enrichment 
                opportunities to children who receive meals under the 
                pilot program.
            ``(4) Conditions.--As a condition of receiving a grant 
        under this subsection, a State shall--
                    ``(A) require that any service institution with 
                which the State enters into a contract to provide meals 
                pursuant to this subsection--
                            ``(i) complies with the nutrition 
                        requirements under section 9(a)(1)(A) of the 
                        Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act 
                        (42 U.S.C. 1758(a)(1)(A)) with respect to such 
                        meals; and
                            ``(ii) delivers at least 5 meals a week 
                        during the non-school summer months to children 
                        in accordance with paragraph (5);
                    ``(B) in selecting service institutions to enter 
                into a contract pursuant to this subsection, give 
                priority to service institutions located in rural areas 
                or hard-to-reach areas; and
                    ``(C) provide matching support in the form of cash 
                or in-kind contributions, including facilities, 
                equipment, or services provided by the State in an 
                amount that is at least equal to 100 percent of the 
                amount of Federal funds received under the grant under 
                this subsection.
            ``(5) Use of funds.--
                    ``(A) Required use of funds.--A State that receives 
                a grant under this subsection shall use the grant funds 
                to enter into one or more contracts with one or more 
                service institutions to deliver meals during the summer 
                months directly to children who--
                            ``(i) are eligible--
                                    ``(I) to participate in the summer 
                                food service program under this 
                                section; or
                                    ``(II) for free or reduced price 
                                lunch under this Act or free or reduced 
                                price breakfast under section 4 of the 
                                Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 
                                1773); and
                            ``(ii) live in a rural area or hard-to-
                        reach area.
                    ``(B) Permissible use of funds.--A State that 
                receives a grant under this subsection may use the 
                grant funds to provide to children described in 
                subparagraph (A) meals during extended school breaks or 
                closures the duration of which is greater than 5 school 
                days.
            ``(6) Oversight and evaluation.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall provide for 
                an independent evaluation of the services carried out 
                under paragraph (5) that measures, to the maximum 
                extent practicable, the impact of such grants on the 
                reduction of hunger and access to meals for children 
                residing in rural or hard-to-reach areas and low-income 
                areas during summer months.
                    ``(B) Program review.--Not later than 18 months 
                after the date on which grants are first provided under 
                this subsection, and annually thereafter, the Secretary 
                shall--
                            ``(i) review and evaluate the effectiveness 
                        of the services carried out under paragraph 
                        (5);
                            ``(ii) suggest alternative services not 
                        offered by a grant recipient that would be 
                        appropriate for providing summer meals to 
                        children in rural or hard-to-reach areas;
                            ``(iii) submit to the Committee on 
                        Agriculture of the House of Representatives, 
                        the Committee on Education and Labor of the 
                        House of Representatives and the Committee on 
                        Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the 
                        Senate, a report containing the results of the 
                        review conducted under clause (i) and a 
                        description of the services provided through 
                        the programs funded under such a grant; and
                            ``(iv) make the report described in clause 
                        (iii) available on the public website of the 
                        Department of Agriculture.
                    ``(C) Personally identifiable information.--In 
                making the report under subparagraph (B)(iii) publicly 
                available, the Secretary shall ensure that such report 
                does not contain any information that would identify 
                any child or parent, family member, or guardian of a 
                child who received services pursuant to this 
                subsection.
            ``(7) Sunset.--The authority to carry out this subsection 
        shall terminate on the date that is 3 years after the date of 
        the enactment this subsection.
            ``(8) Authorization of appropriations.--In addition to 
        amounts made available under subsection (r), there is 
        authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection 
        $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2020 and each of the 2 fiscal years 
        thereafter.
            ``(9) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Rural area.--The term `rural area' means any 
                area other than--
                            ``(i) a city or town that has a population 
                        of greater than 50,000 inhabitants; and
                            ``(ii) any urbanized area contiguous and 
                        adjacent to a city or town described in clause 
                        (i).
                    ``(B) State.--The term `State' includes each 
                Federally-recognized Indian Tribe.''.
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