The bill would create a competitive grant program to help school food authorities prepare more meals from unprocessed or minimally processed ingredients. Grants would last two school years and could support staff training, kitchen equipment, food preparation work, student education, and purchasing systems. Priority would go to authorities serving more students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, operating their own meal programs, and having or negotiating a collective bargaining agreement or memorandum of understanding where legally permitted. Grant recipients would report changes in ingredient spending and the share of menu items made from scratch.
Students may see more meals prepared from scratch if their school food authority receives a grant. The bill does not guarantee that any particular school will receive funding or change its meals.
The bill authorizes $20 million per year for fiscal years 2027 through 2031. Up to 15 percent could be reserved for the technical assistance and resource center, including administrative expenses, and up to 5 percent for other administrative expenses.
No publicly available information.
No publicly available information.