,i #aacth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #dbdi ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,march #ac1 #bjad ,ms4 ,titus 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,vargas1 ,ms4 ,fudge1 ,mr4 ,huffman1 ,mr4 ,cartwright1 ,ms4 ,moore1 ,mr4 ,conyers1 ,mr4 ,polis1 ,ms4 ,clarke of ,new ,york1 ,ms4 ,clark of ,massachusetts1 ,mr4 ,crdenas1 ,mr4 ,johnson of ,georgia1 ,mr4 ,deutch1 and ,mr4 ,serrano7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,education and the ,workforce ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,richard ,b4 ,russell ,national ,school ,lunch ,act and the ,child ,nutrition ,act of #aiff to expand and improve ,federal programs to reduce child hunger4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,helping ,hungry ,students ,learn ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress makes the following findings3 7#a7 ,in #bjab1 nearly one in five children in ,america lived in a household that lacked access to nutritious food on a regular basis4 ,that is #ae4i million ,american children who struggled with hunger at some time during the year4 7#b7 ,children who experience hunger are more likely to get sick and are more likely to be obese than those who do not4 ,children facing chronic hunger also find it more difficult to concentrate in school and tend to exhibit higher levels of behavioral1 emotional1 and academic problems4 7#c7 ,federal programs play an important role in addressing childhood hunger4 ,in #bjac1 #ba million students participated in the free or reduced-price lunch program4 ,eleven million students participated in the free or reduced-price breakfast program4 ,three million low-income children received free meals during the summer months4 ,forty-seven percent of participants in the supplemental nutrition assistance program are under the age of #ah4 7#d7 ,on average1 students who eat school breakfast achieve #ag4e percent higher scores on standardized math tests1 and attend #a4e more days of school each year than those who do not4 ,students who attend class more regularly are #bj percent more likely to graduate from high school4 ,participation in the school breakfast program is associated with children having a lower ,body ,mass ,index4 #c4 ,school ,lunch ,program ,section #i7;b7 of the ,richard ,b4 ,russell ,national ,school ,lunch ,act is amended-- 7#a7 in paragraph 7#a77;,a71 by inserting after the third sentence the following3 ,notwithstanding any other provision of this ,act and the ,child ,nutrition ,act of #aiff1 for each school year beginning on or after the ,july #a of the year following the year of enactment of the ,helping ,hungry ,students ,learn ,act1 the income guidelines for determining eligibility for free lunches shall be #ahe percent of the applicable family size income levels contained in the nonfarm income poverty guidelines prescribed by the ,office of ,management and ,budget1 as adjusted annually in accordance with subparagraph 7,b72 and 7#b7 in paragraph 7#i77;,b71 by inserting at the end the following3 7iii7 ,termination of reduced-price category ,beginning with the school year beginning ,july #a of the year following the year of enactment of the ,helping ,hungry ,students ,learn ,act1 no child shall be determined eligible for a reduced price lunch4 4 #d4 ,school ,breakfast ,program 7a7 ,universal school breakfast program ,section #d7;a7 of the ,child ,nutrition ,act of #aiff 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #aggc7;a77 is amended-- 7#a7 by striking 7a7 ,there and inserting3 7a77#a7 ,there2 and 7#b7 by adding at the end the following3 7#b7 ,universal school breakfast program ,for each school year beginning on or after the ,july #a of the year following the year of enactment of the ,helping ,hungry ,students ,learn ,act1 each school participating in the school breakfast program under this section shall provide breakfast under the program to each student that desires such a breakfast at no cost to the student4 4 7b7 ,national average payment rate ,section #d7;b77#a77;,b7 of the ,child ,nutrition ,act of #aiff 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #aggc7;b77#a77;,b77 is amended by adding at the end the following3 ,notwithstanding any other provision of this ,act or the ,richard ,b4 ,russell ,national ,school ,lunch ,act1 for each school year beginning on or after the ,july #a of the year following the year of enactment of the ,helping ,hungry ,students ,learn ,act1 the national average payment for each breakfast served to any child shall be equal to the national average payment for each free breakfast served during the school year beginning ,july #a of the year of enactment of the ,helping ,hungry ,students ,learn ,act 7which shall be adjusted pursuant to section #aa7;a7 of the ,richard ,b4 ,russell ,national ,school ,lunch ,act744 7c7 ,severe need assistance ,section #d7;d77#a7 of the ,child ,nutrition ,act of #aiff 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #aggc7;d77#a77 is amended-- 7#a7 by striking 7,a7 during and inserting3 7,a77i7 during2 7#b7 by striking 7,b7 in and inserting 7ii7 in2 7#c7 by striking subparagraph 7,a7 and inserting clause 7i72 7#d7 by striking met4 and inserting met2 and2 and 7#e7 by adding at the end the following3 7,b7 for each school year beginning on or after the ,july #a of the year following the year of enactment of the ,helping ,hungry ,students ,learn ,act1 there is an alternative breakfast serving model to increase participation in the school breakfast program1 such as by serving breakfast in the classroom or having a school breakfast cart4 4 #e4 ,summer ,electronic ,benefits ,transfer for ,children program ,the ,richard ,b4 ,russell ,national ,school ,lunch ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #agea et seq47 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #cj4 ,summer ,electronic ,benefits ,transfer for ,children program 7a7 ,in general ,from the amount appropriated to carry out this section1 the ,secretary shall carry out a summer electronic benefits transfer for children program by awarding grants to ,states that desire to participate in such program to assist such ,states with the initial administrative costs of such participation4 7b7 ,program requirements ,the summer electronic benefits transfer for children program carried out under this section shall have the same terms and conditions as the summer electronic benefits transfer for children demonstration project carried out under section #gdi7;g7 of the ,agriculture1 ,rural ,development1 and ,food and ,drug ,administration1 and ,related ,agencies ,appropriations ,act1 #bjaj 7,public ,law #aaa-hj2 #abc ,stat4 #baca71 except that the ,secretary shall prescribe an annual adjustment for the monthly benefit of #fj per child that is adjusted at the time that the annual adjustments are made for the national average payment rates for breakfasts and lunches 7pursuant to section #aa7;a7 of this ,act74 4 #f4 ,weekends and holidays without hunger ,section #ah of the ,richard ,b4 ,russell ,national ,school ,lunch ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #agfi7 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7l7 ,weekends and holidays without hunger 7#a7 ,definitions ,in this subsection3 7,a7 ,at-risk school child ,the term at-risk school child has the meaning given the term in section #ag7r77#a74 7,b7 ,eligible institution 7i7 ,in general ,the term eligible institution means a public or private nonprofit institution that is determined by the ,secretary to be able to meet safe food storage1 handling1 and delivery standards established by the ,secretary4 7ii7 ,inclusions ,the term eligible institution includes-- 7,i7 an elementary or secondary school or school food service authority2 7,,ii7 a food bank or food pantry2 7,,iii7 a homeless shelter2 and 7,,iv7 such other type of emergency feeding agency as is approved by the ,secretary4 7#b7 ,establishment ,subject to the availability of appropriations provided in advance in an appropriations ,act specifically for the purpose of carrying out this subsection1 the ,secretary shall establish a program under which the ,secretary shall provide commodities1 on a competitive basis1 to ,state agencies for the purposes of enabling eligible institutions to carry out projects to provide nutritious food to at-risk children on weekends and during extended school holidays during the school year4 7#c7 ,applications ,to participate in the program under this subsection1 a ,state agency shall submit an application to the ,secretary at such time1 in such manner1 and containing such information as the ,secretary may require4 7#d7 ,eligibility 7,a7 ,in general ,to be eligible to receive commodities under this subsection1 an eligible institution shall submit an application to the ,state agency involved at such time1 in such manner1 and containing such information as the ,state agency may require4 7,b7 ,plan ,an application under subparagraph 7,a7 shall include the plan of the eligible institution for the distribution of nutritious foods to at-risk school children under the project to be carried out under this subsection1 including-- 7i7 methods of food service delivery to at-risk school children2 7ii7 assurances that children receiving foods under the project will not be publicly separated or overtly identified2 7iii7 lists of the types of food to be provided under the project and provisions to ensure food quality and safety2 7iv7 information on the number of at-risk school children to be served and the per-child cost of providing the children with food2 and 7v7 such other information as the ,secretary determines to be necessary to assist the ,secretary in evaluating projects that receive commodities under this subsection4 7#e7 ,priority ,in selecting applications under this subsection1 a ,state agency shall give priority to eligible institutions that-- 7,a7 have on-going programs and experience serving populations with significant proportions of at-risk school children2 7,b7 have a good record of experience in food delivery and food safety systems2 7,c7 maintain high-quality control1 accountability1 and recordkeeping standards2 7,d7 provide children with readily consumable food of high nutrient content and quality2 7,e7 demonstrate cost efficiencies and the potential for obtaining supplemental funding from non-,federal sources to carry out projects2 and 7,f7 demonstrate the ability to continue projects for the full approved term of the pilot project period4 7#f7 ,guidelines 7,a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall issue guidelines containing the criteria for eligible institutions to receive commodities under this section from ,state agencies4 7,b7 ,inclusions ,the guidelines shall1 to the maximum extent practicable within the funds available and applications submitted1 take into account-- 7i7 geographical variations in project locations that will be carried out by eligible institutions to include qualifying projects in rural1 urban1 and suburban areas with high proportions of families with at-risk school children2 7ii7 different types of projects that offer nutritious foods on weekends and during school holidays to at-risk school children2 and 7iii7 institutional capacity to collect1 maintain1 and provide statistically valid information necessary for the ,secretary-- 7,i7 to analyze and evaluate the results of the pilot project2 and 7,,ii7 to make recommendations to ,congress4 7#g7 ,evaluation 7,a7 ,interim evaluation ,not later than ,november #cj1 #bjaf1 the ,secretary shall complete an interim evaluation of the pilot program carried out under this subsection4 7,b7 ,final report ,not later than ,december #ca1 #bjah1 the ,secretary shall submit to ,congress a final report that contains-- 7i7 an evaluation of the pilot program carried out under this subsection2 and 7ii7 any recommendations of the ,secretary for legislative action4 7#h7 ,funding 7,a7 ,authorization of appropriations ,there is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection such sums as are necessary1 to remain available until expended4 7,b7 ,availability of funds ,not more than #c percent of the funds made available under subparagraph 7,a7 may be used by the ,secretary for expenses associated with review of the operations and evaluation of the projects carried out under this subsection4 4