Child Nutrition Technical Assistance Act of 2022
This bill revises food and nutrition programs of the Department of Agriculture (USDA) by directing USDA to provide for technical assistance relating to nutrition standards for the school meal programs, including by awarding competitive grants to assist food service personnel in meeting the nutrition standards under such programs.
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8486 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8486
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.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 22, 2022
Mr. 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.
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 ``Child Nutrition Technical Assistance
Act of 2022''.
SEC. 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:
``SEC. 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).''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
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