1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Local School Foods Expansion Act of 2019”.
Local School Foods Expansion Act of 2019
A BILL
To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to establish a program for the procurement of domestically grown unprocessed fruits and vegetables to provide healthier school meals, and for other purposes.
2. Program for procurement of domestically grown unprocessed fruits and vegetables
Section 6(f) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1755(f)) is amended—
in the subsection heading, by striking “Pilot project for procurement of” and inserting “Program for procurement of domestically grown”;
in paragraph (1)—
by striking “conduct a pilot project” and inserting “carry out a program (referred to in this subsection as the “program”)”;
by inserting “domestically grown” before “unprocessed”; and
by striking “more than 8” and inserting “less than 15”;
by striking “pilot project” each place it appears and inserting “program”;
in paragraph (2), in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by inserting “domestically grown” before “unprocessed”;
in paragraph (5)—
in the paragraph heading, by striking “Recordkeeping and reporting” and inserting “Recordkeeping, reporting, and evaluation”;
in subparagraph (B)—
in clause (i), by striking “and” at the end;
in clause (ii), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(iii) the challenges and opportunities presented by the program in the State.”
by adding at the end the following:
“(C) Program evaluation
“(i) In general—Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this subparagraph, the Secretary shall evaluate the impact of the program, including with respect to—
“(I) the quantity and cost of each type of unprocessed fruit and vegetable procured by each State under the program;
“(II) the benefit of the procured unprocessed fruits and vegetables to school food service in each State, including the benefit to meeting school meal requirements; and
“(III) the economic impact of the program on agricultural producers in the State.
“(ii) Report—Not later than 4 years after the date of enactment of this subparagraph, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report that describes the results of the evaluation conducted under clause (i) and an analysis of that evaluation.”
by adding at the end the following:
“(6) Funding
“(A) Mandatory funding—There is appropriated to carry out this subsection $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024.
“(B) Reservation—Of the funds appropriated under subparagraph (A) for each fiscal year, $10,000,000 shall be reserved for States selected under the program under paragraph (1) to carry out the activities described in subparagraph (C)(i).
“(C) Administrative costs; technical assistance
“(i) In general—The funds reserved under subparagraph (B) shall be used—
“(I) for the administrative costs of carrying out the program; and
“(II) to provide technical assistance and outreach to vendors to become certified to participate in the program.
“(ii) Minimum allotment—Of the funds reserved under subparagraph (B), each State selected under paragraph (3)(A) shall receive not less than $300,000 for each fiscal year during which the State participates in the program.”