,i  #aaith ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #hibh  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,may #bj1 #bjbf,mrs4 
,hayes 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,fitzpatrick1 
and ,ms4 ,brownley7 introduced the      
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on ,education and        
,workforce  ,a ,,bill  ,to amend the    
,richard ,b4 ,russell ,national ,school 
,lunch ,act to establish a pilot program
 promoting scratch cooking in school    
meal programs4  #a4 ,short title ,this  
,act may be cited as the ,scratch       
,cooked ,meals for ,students ,act4  #b4 
,pilot program for grants promoting     
scratch cooking in school meal programs 
,section #ah of the ,richard ,b4        
,russell ,national ,school ,lunch ,act  
7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #agfi7 is amended by     
inserting before subsection 7b7 the     
following new subsection3  7a7 ,scratch 
cooking pilot program  7#a7 ,in general 
7,a7 ,establishment ,not later than #ahj
 days after the date of the enactment of
 this subsection1 the ,secretary shall  

establish a pilot program to award      
competitive grants to school food       
authorities to promote scratch cooking4 
7,b7 ,scratch cooking defined ,in this  
subsection1 the term scratch cooking    
means the preparation of food using     
ingredients that are unprocessed or     
minimally processed4  7#b7 ,grant       
amounts and duration ,a grant awarded   
under this subsection shall be made for 
a period of #b school years4  7#c7      
,eligible uses ,a grant awarded under   
this subsection shall be used by a      
school food authority to promote scratch
 cooking1 which may include--  7,a7     
promoting professional development and  
training related to preparing1          
procuring1 advertising1 serving1 and    
creating menus of meals made with       
scratch cooking2  7,b7 purchasing       
cafeteria equipment or making           
infrastructure modifications necessary  
for scratch cooking2  7,c7 employee     
compensation for additional food        
preparation necessary for scratch       

cooking2  7,d7 providing technical      
assistance1 pupil engagement1 and       
education related to scratch cooking1   
such as taste tests1 recipe development1
 and culinary education2  7,e7 investing
 in software and technology systems for 
procurement to support scratch cooking2 
and  7,f7 carrying out any additional   
activities to promote scratch cooking   
that will help school food authorities  
meet or exceed the nutrition standards  
for the school lunch program authorized 
under this ,act and the school breakfast
 program established by section #d of   
the ,child ,nutrition ,act of #aiff 7#db
 ,u4,s4,c4 #aggc74  7#d7 ,priority ,in  
evaluating grant applications under this
 subsection1 the ,secretary shall give  
the highest priority to school food     
authorities that-- 7,a7 serve the       
greatest proportion of students eligible
 for free or reduced price lunch under  
this ,act2  7,b7 are-- 7i7              
self-operated2 or  7ii7 provide an      
assurance to the ,secretary that the    

school food authority will be           
self-operated on or before the date that
 is #a year before the last day of the  
grant period2 and  7,c7 either--  7i7   
have employees who are represented by a 
collective bargaining agreement or      
memorandum of understanding1 if such    
employees are permitted by law to be so 
represented2 or  7ii7 provide an        
assurance to the ,secretary that the    
school food authority will1 with respect
 to the employees of such school food   
authority1 negotiate a collective       
bargaining agreement or memorandum of   
understanding on or before the date that
 is #a year before the last day of the  
grant period4  7#e7 ,technical          
assistance  7,a7 ,in general ,the       
,secretary shall enter into an agreement
 with one or more nonprofit             
organizations to establish and carry out
 a technical assistance and resource    
center to provide technical assistance  
with respect to carrying out            
subparagraphs 7,a7 through 7,c7 of      

paragraph 7#c74  7,b7 ,collaboration    
requirement ,as soon as practicable     
after receiving a grant under this      
subsection1 a school food authority     
shall collaborate with the technical    
assistance and resource center          
established under subparagraph 7,a7 to--
  7i7 conduct a needs assessment to     
evaluate equipment needs1 equipment     
utilization1 procurement processes1 and 
workforce capabilities of the school    
food authority2 and  7ii7 based on such 
needs assessment1 establish a strategic 
plan to carry out the grant under this  
subsection4  7#f7 ,report ,not later    
than #ahj days after the conclusion of  
the grant period described in paragraph 
7#b71 each school food authority that   
receives a grant under this subsection  
shall submit to the ,secretary a report 
that includes1 with respect to such     
school food authority1 the change at the
 end of the grant period1 as compared   
with the school year immediately        
preceding the beginning of the grant    

period1 in-- 7,a7 the percentage of     
whole ingredients1 raw ingredients1 or  
both1 as a share of total expenditures  
used in school meals2 and  7,b7 the     
percentage of menu items prepared with  
scratch cooking4  7#g7 ,authorization of
 appropriations  7,a7 ,in general ,there
 is authorized to be appropriated to    
carry out this subsection #bj1jjj1jjj   
for each of fiscal years #bjbg through  
#bjca4  7,b7 ,reservations ,of the      
amounts made available under            
subparagraph 7,a71 the ,secretary shall 
reserve-- 7i7 not more than #ae percent 
for purposes of carrying out paragraph  
7#e71 including administrative expenses2
 and  7ii7 not more than #e percent for 
other administrative expenses of the    
,secretary4  4