[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2441 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2441

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of 
Education to make grants to institutions of higher education to provide 
   free meals to low-income students through existing on-campus meal 
                   programs, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 20, 2023

   Mr. Welch (for himself, Mr. Lujan, Mr. Booker, Mr. Fetterman, Mr. 
 Sanders, and Mr. Wyden) introduced the following bill; which was read 
 twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
                                Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of 
Education to make grants to institutions of higher education to provide 
   free meals to low-income students through existing on-campus 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 ``Food for Thought Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. FREE MEALS FOR LOW-INCOME COLLEGE STUDENTS.

    Part A of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1070 et seq.) is amended by inserting after subpart 7 the following:

               ``Subpart 8--Meals for Low-Income Students

``SEC. 420A. FREE MEALS FOR LOW-INCOME STUDENTS.

    ``(a) Authorization.--From amounts made available under subsection 
(j), the Secretary is authorized to award grants, on a competitive 
basis, to eligible entities to provide free meals to low-income 
students through on-campus meal programs.
    ``(b) Applications.--
            ``(1) In general.--An eligible entity desiring to receive 
        an award under subsection (a) shall submit an application to 
        the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
        information as the Secretary may require. Such application 
        shall include--
                    ``(A) a plan for identifying eligible students and 
                conducting outreach; and
                    ``(B) an assurance that the eligible entity will--
                            ``(i) conduct outreach to students with 
                        respect to the grant program under this 
                        section, encourage student participation in 
                        such program, and inform students of--
                                    ``(I) their potential eligibility 
                                for participation in other Federal, 
                                State, and local benefit and support 
                                programs, including means-tested 
                                Federal benefits programs such as SNAP; 
                                and
                                    ``(II) the processes for obtaining 
                                more information, confirming 
                                eligibility, and accessing benefits 
                                under such programs;
                            ``(ii) evaluate institutional policies 
                        relating to the purchase of on-campus meal 
                        plans and whether such policies create barriers 
                        to enrollment and persistence for low-income 
                        students;
                            ``(iii) identify ways to mitigate any 
                        institutional policies that are found, through 
                        the evaluation described in clause (ii), to 
                        create barriers described in such clause; and
                            ``(iv) in the case of an eligible entity 
                        that is a consortia of eligible institutions of 
                        higher education that includes eligible 
                        institutions that do not have on-campus meal 
                        programs, provide an explanation with respect 
                        to how the eligible entity will ensure that 
                        low-income students attending such institutions 
                        will be able to easily access free meals 
                        provided under this section.
            ``(2) Priority.--In awarding grants under this section, the 
        Secretary shall give priority to--
                    ``(A) an eligible entity that is an eligible 
                institution of higher education that is--
                            ``(i) a community college;
                            ``(ii) a minority-serving institution 
                        described in section 371(a); or
                            ``(iii) located in an area served by a 
                        local educational agency that is eligible for 
                        special assistance payments under section 
                        11(a)(1) of the Richard B. Russell National 
                        School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1759a(a)(1)); and
                    ``(B) an eligible entity that is a consortia of 
                eligible institutions of higher education, in which at 
                least 50 percent of such institutions meet at least 1 
                of the requirements under clauses (i) through (iii) of 
                subparagraph (A).
    ``(c) Mandatory Activities.--
            ``(1) In general.--An eligible entity that receives a grant 
        under this section shall use such grant funds to provide, 
        through on-campus meal programs, not fewer than 1, and not more 
        than 10, free meals per week to each low-income student 
        selected by such entity to participate in the program under 
        this section.
            ``(2) Priority.--In selecting low-income students to 
        participate in the program under this section, an eligible 
        entity shall give priority to--
                    ``(A) students with the greatest financial need; 
                and
                    ``(B) students who indicate that they are 
                experiencing food insecurity, housing insecurity, 
                homelessness, or other insecurity with respect to basic 
                needs.
    ``(d) Permissible Activities.--In addition to the mandatory 
activities in subsection (c), an eligible entity that receives a grant 
under this section may use not more than 10 percent of such grant funds 
to--
            ``(1) facilitate the enrollment of on-campus vendors as 
        authorized retailers in SNAP;
            ``(2) support the operation of an on-campus food pantry; 
        and
            ``(3) purchase food infrastructure equipment, including 
        microwaves, refrigerators, and other such equipment determined 
        by the Secretary to be necessary.
    ``(e) Administrative Costs.--Not more than 5 percent of the grant 
funds provided to an eligible entity under this section for any fiscal 
year may be used for administrative purposes.
    ``(f) Grant Period.--Grants awarded to eligible entities under this 
section shall be for a period of 5 years.
    ``(g) Campus Meal Program.--Eligible entities receiving grants 
under this section may contract with third-party food service vendors 
to provide on-campus meals.
    ``(h) Reports.--
            ``(1) Recipient reports.--
                    ``(A) In general.--At the end of the 5-year grant 
                period, an eligible entity that receives a grant under 
                this section shall submit to the Secretary a report 
                on--
                            ``(i) how such entity used the grant funds, 
                        including the shares of such funds used for 
                        each of the activities described in subsections 
                        (c), (d)(1), and (d)(2); and
                            ``(ii) the success rates of students who 
                        participated in the grant program under this 
                        section (using benchmarks such as persistence, 
                        coursework completion, transfer, and completion 
                        rates).
                    ``(B) Disaggregation.--The information reported in 
                subparagraph (A)(ii) shall be disaggregated, where 
                possible, by--
                            ``(i) race;
                            ``(ii) ethnicity;
                            ``(iii) Pell recipient status;
                            ``(iv) income;
                            ``(v) gender; and
                            ``(vi) age.
            ``(2) Secretary report.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the 
                Secretary receives the reports required under paragraph 
                (1), the Secretary shall submit a report to Congress on 
                the overall impact of the program under this section.
                    ``(B) Disaggregation.--The information described in 
                subparagraph (A) shall be disaggregated, where 
                possible, by--
                            ``(i) sectors and types of institutions;
                            ``(ii) whether an institution is a 
                        minority-serving institution described in 
                        section 371(a); and
                            ``(iii) whether an institution has an open 
                        admissions policy.
    ``(i) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that an 
eligible entity awarded a grant under this section should, to the 
extent practicable--
            ``(1) ensure meals served pursuant to a grant under this 
        section are consistent with the nutritional requirements and 
        goals of 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);
            ``(2) ensure access to vegetarian meals, vegan meals, 
        culturally and religiously appropriate meals, and meals that 
        accommodate common food allergies;
            ``(3) build and encourage the use of on-campus food 
        pantries;
            ``(4) encourage on-campus vendors to increase the use of 
        climate-friendly options; and
            ``(5) buy products to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions 
        associated with providing free meals to students and purchasing 
        food infrastructure equipment.
    ``(j) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section such sums as may be necessary 
for fiscal year 2023 and each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.
    ``(k) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Community college.--The term `community college' 
        means a public institution of higher education at which the 
        highest degree that is predominantly awarded to students is an 
        associate's degree, including 2-year Tribal Colleges or 
        Universities under section 316 and public 2-year institutions 
        of higher education operated by a State.
            ``(2) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' means--
                    ``(A) an eligible institution of higher education 
                that has an on-campus meal program that is provided 
                through an institutionally owned or operated food 
                service or one or more third-party food service 
                vendors; or
                    ``(B) a consortia of eligible institutions of 
                higher education, of which at least one has an on-
                campus meal program that is provided through an 
                institutionally owned or operated food service or one 
                or more third-party food service vendors, provided that 
                such an eligible institution with an on-campus meal 
                program is geographically accessible to the students of 
                the eligible institutions that do not have on-campus 
                meal programs.
            ``(3) Eligible institution of higher education.--The term 
        `eligible institution of higher education' means an institution 
        of higher education under section 101 or 102(a)(1)(B) in which 
        at least 30 percent of the undergraduate students enrolled at 
        such institution are eligible to receive a Federal Pell Grant.
            ``(4) Snap.--The term `SNAP' means the supplemental 
        nutrition assistance program (as defined in section 3(t) of the 
        Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2012(t))).''.
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