H.R. 739

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 739 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 739

To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to expand the 
use of salad bars in schools.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

January 24, 2025

Ms. Wilson of Florida introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Education and Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to expand the 
use of salad bars in schools.

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 ``Salad Bars in Schools Expansion 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following:
(1) In the United States, one-third of all school-aged 
children are overweight or obese and very few eat the daily 
amount of fruits and vegetables recommended by national health 
authorities.
(2) On average, more than 30 million children participate 
in the National School Lunch Program daily, with more than 70 
percent qualifying for free or reduced-price meals based on 
family household income.
(3) Improving the healthfulness of school meals, including 
serving more fruits and vegetables, will improve children's 
eating habits and their health. The Dietary Guidelines for 
Americans recommends that children ``make half their plate 
fruits and vegetables'' at each meal.
(4) Research indicates that school salad bars are an 
effective strategy to increase children's consumption of a wide 
variety of fruits and vegetables.
(5) Salad bars are one of the easiest ways for school food 
authorities to meet the new school lunch nutrition standards 
that require serving a fruit and a vegetable every day, a 
colorful variety of vegetables every week, and that students 
select at least one-half cup of a fruit or a vegetable at 
lunch.
(6) Salad bars are effective in elementary, middle, and 
high school, they empower students to try new fruits and 
vegetables and are a tangible example of a school's commitment 
to wellness and healthier school meals.

SEC. 3. EXPANSION OF SALAD BARS.

Section 18 of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 
U.S.C. 1769) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(l) Expansion of Salad Bars.--
``(1) Marketing and communications plan.--Not later than 90 
days after the date of the enactment of the Salad Bars in 
Schools Expansion Act, the Secretary shall establish and 
implement a plan to promote the use of salad bars in schools 
participating in the school lunch program established under 
this Act.
``(2) Training and technical assistance.--In carrying out 
the plan described in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 
provide training and technical assistance to eligible entities 
to assist the entities in establishing salad bars in schools. 
Such training and technical assistance may include--
``(A) webinars;
``(B) training workshops;
``(C) implementation resources;
``(D) nutrition education; and
``(E) strategies for parent engagement and to 
encourage collaboration with allied organizations and 
partners.
``(3) Grant program.--
``(A) In general.--In carrying out the plan 
described in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 
establish a grant program under which the Secretary 
shall provide grants, on a competitive basis, to 
eligible entities selected under subparagraph (C).
``(B) Use of funds.--Each eligible entity receiving 
a grant under this subsection shall use the grant funds 
to award schools a one-time payment equal to the 
anticipated cost of installing a salad bar, including 
the purchase of any durable equipment required for a 
salad bar.
``(C) Application.--
``(i) In general.--To receive a grant under 
this subsection, an eligible entity shall 
submit to the Secretary an application at such 
time, in such manner, and containing such 
information as the Secretary may require.
``(ii) Priority.--In selecting grant 
recipients, the Secretary may give priority to 
eligible entities that--
``(I) serve schools in which not 
less than 50 percent of the students 
are eligible for free or reduced price 
lunches;
``(II) serve schools in food 
deserts; or
``(III) provide nutrition education 
to students.
``(D) Termination.--The grant program shall 
terminate 5 years after the date of the enactment of 
the Salad Bars in Schools Expansion Act.
``(E) Evaluation.--Each grantee shall submit to the 
Secretary an evaluation of the grant program at such 
time, in such manner, and containing such information 
as the Secretary may require.
``(4) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of the Salad Bars in Schools Expansion Act, the 
Secretary shall submit a report to the Committee on Education 
and the Workforce and the Committee on Agriculture of the House 
of Representatives, and the Committee on Agriculture, 
Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate, which includes--
``(A) recommendations, if any, for promoting and 
establishing more salad bars in schools;
``(B) the number of schools nationwide that have a 
salad bar program in their school;
``(C) the number of schools that have new salad 
bars as a result of the plan described in paragraph 
(1); and
``(D) the evaluations submitted by grantees under 
paragraph (3)(E).
``(5) Revision of guidance on salad bars in the national 
school lunch program.--Not later than 90 days after submitting 
the report under paragraph (4), the Secretary shall revise the 
March 27, 2013, policy memorandum SP 31-2013, `Salad Bars in 
the National School Lunch Program', in light of any 
recommendations contained in the report.
``(6) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Durable equipment.--The term `durable 
equipment' means durable food preparation, handling, 
cooking, serving, and storage equipment greater than 
$500 in value.
``(B) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' 
means--
``(i) a school; or
``(ii) a school food authority.
``(C) Food desert.--The term `food desert' means a 
census tract with a substantial share of residents who 
live in low-income areas that have low levels of access 
to a grocery store or a healthy, affordable food retail 
outlet.''.

SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON NEW APPROPRIATIONS.

No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
this Act and the amendments made by this Act, and this Act and such 
amendments shall be carried out using amounts otherwise made available 
for such purposes.
<all>