[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4333 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4333

 To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to improve 
 the health and well-being of school children, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 16, 2009

Mr. Farr (for himself, Mr. Putnam, Ms. Richardson, Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. 
Kagen, Mr. Michaud, Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas, Mr. Hinchey, Ms. Matsui, 
 Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Mr. Moran of Virginia, Mr. Costa, Mr. Serrano, 
  Mr. Courtney, Ms. Hirono, and Mrs. Capps) introduced the following 
 bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and 
    in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
  of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
                               concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to improve 
 the health and well-being of school children, 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 ``Children's Fruit and Vegetable Act 
of 2009''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Children eat less than half of the daily fruits and 
        vegetables recommended for good health by the 2005 Dietary 
        Guidelines for Americans. To meet those guidelines designed to 
        promote the health of children and to lower their risks of 
        chronic disease and obesity, children need to double their 
        fruit and vegetable intake. According to the background and 
        purpose of those guidelines many specific disease and 
        conditions are linked to poor diet and that nutrient 
        supplements cannot replace a healthful diet. The report notes 
        that ``an array of evidence points to beneficial health 
        effects'' from the increased intake of fruits and vegetables.
            (2) Published analysis of the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for 
        Americans notes that increased intakes of fruit, vegetables, 
        are likely to have important health benefits for most 
        Americans. For this reason, the Secretary of Agriculture should 
        engage in effective marketing, communications, and training 
        focused on sharing best practices that result in school 
        children eating more fruits and vegetables.
            (3) Schools participating in the national school lunch 
        program established under the Richard B. Russell National 
        School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) or the school 
        breakfast program established under the Child Nutrition Act of 
        1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771, et seq.) are required to serve meals that 
        are consistent with 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). 
        However, Nutrition Standards and Meal Requirements for the 
        National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program, 
        have not been updated since 1995.
            (4) Most schools participating in school meal programs 
        currently serve meals that contain fewer fruits and vegetables 
        than recommended by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 
        published in 2005 under section 301 of the National Nutrition 
        Monitoring and Related Research Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5341).
            (5) The Institute of Medicine's publication entitled School 
        Meals: Building Blocks for Healthy Children Report (October 20, 
        2009), recommends that (1) the amount of fruit served in school 
        breakfast be doubled to one cup, and (2) the amount of fruits 
        and vegetables in school lunch be doubled to one cup of fruit 
        and one cup of vegetables every day, and that the variety of 
        vegetables served be increased, emphasizing dark green and 
        orange vegetables. The Institute of Medicine's recommendations 
        will align the National School Breakfast and Lunch Programs 
        with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans published in 2005 
        under section 301 of the National Nutrition Monitoring and 
        Related Research Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5341) and promote 
        children's health. The Institute of Medicine's report also 
        recognizes that improving the quality of school meals, such as 
        adding more fruits and vegetables, will require additional 
        cafeteria equipment, such as refrigeration, salad bar, and 
        fruit and vegetable bars.
            (6) An important goal of the Federal school lunch and 
        breakfast programs should include improving the eating habits 
        of children so they can meet recommendations set forth in the 
        most recent version of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
            (7) According to a University of California-Los Angeles 
        School of Public Health study published in 2007 (Public Health 
        Nutrition 10:1490-1496) by Dr. Wendelin Slusser, M.D., et al. 
        and later confirmed by additional research presented by Dr. 
        Havinder Sareen, PhD, MPH to the Centers for Disease Control 
        and Prevention in February 2009, children who have access to 
        salad bars or fruit and vegetable bars in their school 
        cafeteria eat more fruits and vegetables.
            (8) According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture only 
        approximately 3 percent of fruits and vegetables purchased for 
        the school lunch program through the Agricultural Marketing 
        Services commodity purchase program are fresh. The Secretary of 
        Agriculture is piloting a fresh-cut sliced apple program to 
        test the feasibility of purchasing, under authority of section 
        32 of Public Law 74-320, as amended (7 U.S.C. 612c), a wide 
        variety of fresh-cut fruits and vegetables for school meal 
        programs. According to the Agricultural Marketing Service press 
        release from September 17, 2009, the fresh-cut sliced apple 
        pilot program is a tremendous achievement and is 
        extraordinarily popular with schools. The Secretary plans to 
        expand the fresh-cut apple program and pilot test a baby carrot 
        program during the Fall of 2009.
            (9) The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 
        (ARRA) (Public Law 111-5) provided a one time investment of 
        $100 million for equipment assistance to school food 
        authorities participating in the National School Lunch Program. 
        This is the first Federal infrastructure investment for 
        cafeteria equipment in 25 years. Total requests from schools 
        for cafeteria equipment through the ARRA exceeded $650 million 
        indicating a strong unmet need for Federal support to help 
        schools for equipment that lends itself to improving the 
        quality of school food service meals that meet the Dietary 
        Guidelines.
            (10) The Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program established 
        under Section 19 of the Richard B. Russell National School 
        Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769a, et seq.) has demonstrated 
        successfully that children like fresh fruits and vegetables and 
        will increase their consumption when a variety of high quality 
        fresh fruits and vegetables are available to them in school.
            (11) Policy initiatives, such as the Fresh Fruits and 
        Vegetable Program, which are designed to improve the school 
        food environment and children's eating habits, should be 
        reinforced with training and technical assistance for schools 
        to improve program effectiveness.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to establish a national 
strategy to improve the nutritional quality of school meals served by 
schools participating in the school lunch program established under the 
Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) 
or the school breakfast program established under established under the 
Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.) by increasing 
access to and consumption of fruits and vegetables by children enrolled 
in the schools through--
            (1) the promotion of the use of salad bars, or fruit and 
        vegetable bars, as a strategy to increase children's fruit and 
        vegetable consumption;
            (2) the expansion of the amount of fruits and vegetables 
        purchased by the Secretary of Agriculture for use in school 
        meals, emphasizing fruits and vegetables that are popular with 
        students;
            (3) effective training and technical assistance, 
        emphasizing best practices, that will--
                    (A) improve the implementation of the Fresh Fruit 
                and Vegetable Program under section 19 of the Richard 
                B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769a); 
                and
                    (B) increase the availability and consumption of 
                fruits and vegetables in school meals;
            (4) infrastructure investment for purchasing cafeteria 
        equipment specifically targeted for increasing access to fruits 
        and vegetables and improve the quality of school food service 
        meals that meet 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
            (5) improving the quality of school meals.

SEC. 3. DEFINITION.

    In this Act, the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
Agriculture.

SEC. 4. INCREASING ACCESS TO FRUITS AND VEGETABLES IN SCHOOL 
              CAFETERIAS.

    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--
    ``(j) Establishing Salad Bars and Fruit and Vegetable Bars.--
            ``(1) Marketing and communications plan.--Not later than 90 
        days after the date of enactment of the Children's Fruit and 
        Vegetable Act of 2009, the Secretary shall establish and 
        implement a plan to promote the use of salad bars or fruit and 
        vegetable bars in schools participating in the school lunch 
        program established under this Act.
            ``(2) Training and technical assistance.--
                    ``(A) In general.--In carrying out the plan 
                described in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall provide 
                training and technical assistance to State educational 
                agencies and schools on how to offer salad bars or 
                fruit and vegetable bars.
                    ``(B) Comprehensive guidance.--In providing the 
                training and technical assistance described in 
                subparagraph (A), the Secretary may use relevant 
                guidance provided in the publication of the Secretary 
                entitled Fruits and Vegetables Galore: Helping Kids Eat 
                More (2004).
            ``(3) Infrastructure investment.--
                    ``(A) In general.--In carrying out the plan 
                described in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall develop 
                a program to provide grants to State educational 
                agencies to encourage schools in such agencies to 
                purchase equipment and modify facilities for the 
                purpose of setting up and operating salad bars or fruit 
                and vegetable bars.
                    ``(B) Allocation to state educational agencies.--
                The Secretary shall allocate funds to each State 
                educational agency in accordance with a formula 
                developed by the Secretary, which shall provide for 
                reallocation of unused funds after the end of each 
                fiscal year.
                    ``(C) Application.--To receive a grant under this 
                subsection, a State educational agency shall submit to 
                the Secretary an application at such time, in such 
                manner, and containing such information as the 
                Secretary may require.
                    ``(D) State educational agency required uses of 
                funds.--Each State educational agency receiving a grant 
                under this subsection shall use the grant funds to--
                            ``(i) award schools in such State 
                        educational agency a one-time payment equal to 
                        the anticipated cost of setting up and 
                        operating a salad bar or fruit and vegetable 
                        bar, or $7,500, whichever is less; and
                            ``(ii) shall impose appropriate audit and 
                        reporting requirements, and other procedures to 
                        ensure that funds provided to schools by the 
                        agency under this subsection have been properly 
                        used and shall recover unused funds, as 
                        appropriate.
            ``(4) Evaluation and report.--Not later than 18 months 
        following the establishment and execution of the plan described 
        in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall prepare and submit a 
        report to the Committee on Education and Labor, the Committee 
        on Agriculture, and the Committee on Appropriations, of the 
        House of Representatives, and the Committee on Appropriations, 
        the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, of the 
        Senate, which describes--
                    ``(A) how the plan has been executed; and
                    ``(B) the number of schools that have new salad 
                bars or fruit and vegetable bars as a result of such 
                plan.
            ``(5) Mandatory spending.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Out of the funds in the Treasury 
                not otherwise appropriated, the Secretary of Treasury 
                shall provide to the Secretary of Agriculture by 
                October 15 of each of fiscal years 2011 through 2012 
                the amount of $10,000,000 and the Secretary of 
                Agriculture shall accept and use such funds to 
                implement this subsection.
                    ``(B) Additional authorization of appropriations.--
                There are authorized to be appropriated, in addition to 
                the mandatory funding under subparagraph (A) for each 
                of the fiscal years listed in such subparagraph, such 
                sums as are necessary to carry out this subsection, to 
                remain available until expended.''.

SEC. 5. IDENTIFYING AND REMOVING BARRIERS TO THE PURCHASE OF PERISHABLE 
              FRUITS AND VEGETABLES.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish and implement a 
plan to identify and remove barriers to facilitate the equitable 
purchase of fruits and vegetables within the procurement and 
distribution systems administered by Secretary, acting through the 
Agricultural Marketing Service of the Department of Agriculture.   The 
plan shall seek to identify and remove barriers to the equitable 
purchase of fruits and vegetables at all levels of the procurement and 
distribution systems, including any barriers related to the initial 
surveys, bidding, transportation, handling, storage, and delivery to 
schools.
    (b) Evaluation and Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall evaluate and report to 
the appropriate committees of Congress recommendations to reduce or 
eliminate the barriers identified pursuant to subsection (a).

SEC. 6. BEST PRACTICES TO IMPROVE EFFECTIVENESS OF FRESH FRUIT AND 
              VEGETABLE PROGRAM.

    Section 19(i)(6)(A) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch 
Act (42 U.S.C. 1769a) is amended to read as follows:
                    ``(A) In general.--Of funds made available to carry 
                out this section for a fiscal year, the Secretary may 
                use not more than $500,000 for administrative costs of 
                carrying out this program, including national and 
                regional training conferences emphasizing sharing best 
                practices, and providing technical assistance. Such 
                training programs may also include strategies and best 
                practices for increasing access to fresh fruits and 
                vegetables in other school meals programs.''.

SEC. 7. IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF SCHOOL MEALS THROUGH RULEMAKING.

    Not later than 24 months after the date of receiving the review 
initiated by the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine in 
February 2008 of the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Program 
Meal Patterns and Nutrient Standards authorized under the Richard B. 
Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751), the Secretary shall 
promulgate a final rule updating the nutrition standards and meal 
requirements for school meal programs in a manner consistent with the 
findings of such review.

SEC. 8. EQUIPMENT ASSISTANCE GRANTS.

    (a) Program Authorized.--From the amount appropriated under 
subsection (e), the Secretary shall provide funds to States, according 
to the allocation formula described in subsection (b), for the purpose 
of awarding grants, on a competitive basis, to school food authorities 
to provide equipment assistance to schools participating in the school 
lunch program established under the Richard B. Russell National School 
Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.).
    (b) Allocation Formula.--
            (1) In general.--From the amount appropriated under 
        subsection (e), the Secretary shall allocate funds to States in 
        a manner proportional with each State's administrative expense 
        allocation under section 7(a)(2) of the Child Nutrition Act of 
        1966 (42 U.S.C. 1776(a)(2)).
            (2) Reallocation.--If a State does not receive funds under 
        this subsection, the Secretary shall reallocate such funds to 
        other States in amounts the Secretary determines necessary.
    (c) Applications.--
            (1) States.--To qualify to receive an allocation of funds 
        under this section, a State shall submit an application to the 
        Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
        information as the Secretary may require.
            (2) School food authorities.--To qualify to receive a grant 
        under this section, a school food authority shall submit an 
        application to the applicable State at such time, in such 
        manner, and containing such information as the State may 
        require. Such application shall demonstrate to the State that 
        such school food authority serves schools that have a need for 
        equipment assistance.
    (d) Priority.--In awarding grants under this section, a State shall 
give priority to school food authorities that have, under the 
jurisdiction of such authorities, schools in which not less than 50 
percent of the students are eligible for free or reduced price lunches 
under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 
et seq.).
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations and Appropriation.--Out of any 
moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the Secretary of the 
Treasury shall provide to the Secretary $100,000,000 to carry out this 
section, to remain available until expended.
    (f) Definition.--In this section, the term ``equipment'' means any 
equipment needed to prepare, process, and store food for the school 
lunch program established under this Act.

SEC. 9. FARM TO SCHOOL PROGRAM.

    (a) Amendment.--The Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act 
(42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 19, the 
following:

``SEC. 19A. FARM-TO-SCHOOL PROGRAM.

    ``(a) In General.--From the amount appropriated under subsection 
(h), the Secretary shall carry out a program provide assistance, 
through competitive matching grants and technical assistance, to 
schools and nonprofit entities to carry out farm-to-school programs 
that improve access to local foods in schools and institutions 
participating in programs under this Act and section 4 of the Child 
Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773) through farm to school 
activities, including the purchase of local food, establishment of 
effective relationships between school and institutional food service 
providers, distributors, and producers or groups of producers, school 
gardens, appropriate equipment, and the provision of training and 
education.
    ``(b) Purposes of Farm-to-School Programs.--Farm-to-school programs 
are designed to--
            ``(1) improve the nutritional health and well being of 
        children;
            ``(2) procure healthy local foods from small and medium-
        sized farms for meals at eligible schools and institutions;
            ``(3) support experiential nutrition education activities 
        and curriculum planning that incorporates the participation of 
        school children in farm and garden-based agricultural education 
        activities;
            ``(4) develop a sustained commitment to farm to school 
        projects in the community by linking schools and institutions, 
        State and local agencies including Indian Tribal Organizations, 
        institutions of higher education, agricultural producers, 
        parents, community garden groups and other community 
        stakeholders; and
            ``(5) increase farm income by facilitating farmers' access 
        to institutional markets including schools.
    ``(c) Grants.--
            ``(1) Competitive basis.--A grant under this section shall 
        be awarded on a competitive basis.
            ``(2) Types of grants.--A grant under this section may be--
                    ``(A) an implementation grant to support the cost 
                of implementing a farm-to-school program;
                    ``(B) a training and technical assistance grant to 
                provide the training, operational support, information, 
                and access to resources necessary to implement a 
                success farm-to-school program; or
                    ``(C) a planning grant to support the cost of 
                conducting research, identifying resources, and 
                developing partnerships to design a successful and 
                sustainable farm-to-school program.
            ``(3) Amount.--The total amount provided under this section 
        to a grant recipient shall not exceed--
                    ``(A) in the case of an implementation or training 
                and technical assistance grant, $100,000; and
                    ``(B) in the case of a planning grant, $25,000.
            ``(4) Term.--A grant under this section may not be awarded 
        for a period of more than--
                    ``(A) in the case of an implementation or training 
                and technical assistance grant, 2 years; and
                    ``(B) in the case of a planning grant, 1 year.
            ``(5) Cost share.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The amount of a grant made under 
                this section shall not exceed 75 percent of the cost 
                of--
                            ``(i) in the case of an implementation 
                        grant, implementing a farm-to-school program;
                            ``(ii) in the case of a training and 
                        technical assistance grant, providing the 
                        training, operational support, information, and 
                        access to resources necessary to implement a 
                        success farm-to-school program; and
                            ``(iii) in the case of a planning grant, 
                        conducting research, identifying resources and 
                        developing partnerships to design a successful 
                        and sustainable farm-to-school program.
                    ``(B) Non-federal support.--A grant recipient under 
                this section shall be required to provide not more than 
                25 percent of the cost of the applicable activities 
                described in subparagraph (A) in the form of cash or 
                in-kind contributions (including facilities, equipment, 
                training, or services provided by State and local 
                governments and private sources).
    ``(d) Evaluation.--An grant recipient under this section shall 
agree to cooperate in an evaluation carried out by the Secretary.
    ``(e) Regional Balance.--In making awards and providing technical 
assistance under this section, the Secretary shall to the maximum 
extent practicable, ensure--
            ``(1) geographical diversity; and
            ``(2) equitable treatment of urban, rural, and tribal 
        communities.
    ``(f) Technical Assistance.--
            ``(1) Technical assistance by secretary.--The Secretary 
        shall provide grant recipients technical assistance and 
        information to further the purposes of this section.
            ``(2) Training and technical assistance grants.--
                    ``(A) In general.--In the case of a recipient of a 
                training and technical assistance grant under this 
                section, the recipient shall use the funds available 
                under the grant to provide training and technical 
                assistance to an entity, including an institution of 
                higher education, that desires to implement a farm-to-
                school program.
                    ``(B) Training and technical assistance 
                activities.--The training and technical assistance 
                shall--
                            ``(i) be provided under such terms as the 
                        Secretary may require; and
                            ``(ii) include providing the training, 
                        operational support, information, and access to 
                        resources necessary to implement a success 
                        farm-to-school program.
    ``(g) Proposals.--
            ``(1) Requirement for applicants.--An applicant that 
        desires to receive a grant under this section shall submit to 
        the Secretary a proposal at such time, in such manner, and 
        containing such information as the Secretary may require.
            ``(2) Proposal review criteria.--In making awards under 
        this subsection, the Secretary shall form review panels 
        described in paragraph (3) to evaluate proposals submitted 
        pursuant to paragraph (1) based on the extent to which the 
        proposed program--
                    ``(A) makes local food products available on the 
                menu of the school or institution;
                    ``(B) benefits local small and medium-sized farms;
                    ``(C) incorporates experiential nutrition 
                education;
                    ``(D) serves schools and eligible institutions with 
                a high proportion of children who are eligible for free 
                and reduced price lunches;
                    ``(E) demonstrates collaboration between schools or 
                institutions, non-governmental and community-based 
                organizations, farmer groups, and other community 
                partners;
                    ``(F) demonstrates the potential for long-term 
                program sustainability;
                    ``(G) includes adequate and participatory 
                evaluation plans; and
                    ``(H) meets such other related criteria as the 
                Secretary may determine relevant.
            ``(3) Competitive award selection.--In forming review 
        panels to evaluate proposals submitted pursuant to paragraph 
        (1), the Secretary shall include--
                    ``(A) representatives of schools and eligible 
                institutions;
                    ``(B) registered dietitians;
                    ``(C) operators of small and medium-sized farms;
                    ``(D) public agencies;
                    ``(E) non-governmental and community-based 
                organizations with expertise in local food systems and 
                farm to school programs; and
                    ``(F) other appropriate parties as determined by 
                the Secretary.
    ``(h) Funding.--Beginning on October 1, 2010, out of any funds in 
the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the Secretary of the Treasury 
shall transfer to the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out this 
subsection $10,000,000 each fiscal year, to remain available until 
expended.
    ``(i) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term 
`institution of higher education' has the meaning given such term in 
section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001).''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 18 of the Richard B. National 
School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769) is amended by repealing subsection 
(g).
                                 <all>