H.R. 8928

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8928 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8928

To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to establish 
a pilot program promoting scratch cooking in school meal programs.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

May 20, 2026

Mrs. Hayes (for herself, Mr. Fitzpatrick, and Ms. Brownley) 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 establish 
a pilot program promoting scratch cooking in school meal programs.

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 ``Scratch Cooked Meals for Students 
Act''.

SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM FOR GRANTS PROMOTING SCRATCH COOKING IN SCHOOL 
MEAL PROGRAMS.

Section 18 of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 
U.S.C. 1769) is amended by inserting before subsection (b) the 
following new subsection:
``(a) Scratch Cooking Pilot Program.--
``(1) In general.--
``(A) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after 
the date of the enactment of this subsection, the 
Secretary shall establish a pilot program to award 
competitive grants to school food authorities to 
promote scratch cooking.
``(B) Scratch cooking defined.--In this subsection, 
the term `scratch cooking' means the preparation of 
food using ingredients that are unprocessed or 
minimally processed.
``(2) Grant amounts and duration.--A grant awarded under 
this subsection shall be made for a period of 2 school years.
``(3) Eligible uses.--A grant awarded under this subsection 
shall be used by a school food authority to promote scratch 
cooking, which may include--
``(A) promoting professional development and 
training related to preparing, procuring, advertising, 
serving, and creating menus of meals made with scratch 
cooking;
``(B) purchasing cafeteria equipment or making 
infrastructure modifications necessary for scratch 
cooking;
``(C) employee compensation for additional food 
preparation necessary for scratch cooking;
``(D) providing technical assistance, pupil 
engagement, and education related to scratch cooking, 
such as taste tests, recipe development, and culinary 
education;
``(E) investing in software and technology systems 
for procurement to support scratch cooking; and
``(F) 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 4 
of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773).
``(4) Priority.--In evaluating grant applications under 
this subsection, the Secretary shall give the highest priority 
to school food authorities that--
``(A) serve the greatest proportion of students 
eligible for free or reduced price lunch under this 
Act;
``(B) are--
``(i) self-operated; or
``(ii) provide an assurance to the 
Secretary that the school food authority will 
be self-operated on or before the date that is 
1 year before the last day of the grant period; 
and
``(C) either--
``(i) have employees who are represented by 
a collective bargaining agreement or memorandum 
of understanding, if such employees are 
permitted by law to be so represented; or
``(ii) provide an assurance to the 
Secretary that the school food authority will, 
with respect to the employees of such school 
food authority, negotiate a collective 
bargaining agreement or memorandum of 
understanding on or before the date that is 1 
year before the last day of the grant period.
``(5) Technical assistance.--
``(A) 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 (A) through (C) 
of paragraph (3).
``(B) Collaboration requirement.--As soon as 
practicable after receiving a grant under this 
subsection, a school food authority shall collaborate 
with the technical assistance and resource center 
established under subparagraph (A) to--
``(i) conduct a needs assessment to 
evaluate equipment needs, equipment 
utilization, procurement processes, and 
workforce capabilities of the school food 
authority; and
``(ii) based on such needs assessment, 
establish a strategic plan to carry out the 
grant under this subsection.
``(6) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the conclusion 
of the grant period described in paragraph (2), each school 
food authority that receives a grant under this subsection 
shall submit to the Secretary a report that includes, with 
respect to such school food authority, the change at the end of 
the grant period, as compared with the school year immediately 
preceding the beginning of the grant period, in--
``(A) the percentage of whole ingredients, raw 
ingredients, or both, as a share of total expenditures 
used in school meals; and
``(B) the percentage of menu items prepared with 
scratch cooking.
``(7) Authorization of appropriations.--
``(A) In general.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this subsection $20,000,000 
for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031.
``(B) Reservations.--Of the amounts made available 
under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall reserve--
``(i) not more than 15 percent for purposes 
of carrying out paragraph (5), including 
administrative expenses; and
``(ii) not more than 5 percent for other 
administrative expenses of the Secretary.''.
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