H.R. 8486 — Introduced in House

I 117th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 8486 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES July 22, 2022Mr. Mrvan 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 provide for technical assistance relating to nutrition standards for school meal programs, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Child Nutrition Technical Assistance Act of 2022. 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: 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). .