SenateS. 4599119th Congress
Scratch Cooked Meals for Students Act of 2026
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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4599 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4599
To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to establish
a pilot program promoting scratch cooking in school meal programs, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 20, 2026
Mr. Schiff introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to establish
a pilot program promoting scratch cooking in 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 ``Scratch Cooked Meals for Students
Act of 2026''.
SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM FOR GRANTS PROMOTING SCRATCH COOKING IN SCHOOL
MEAL PROGRAMS.
Section 18 of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42
U.S.C. 1769) is amended by inserting before subsection (b) the
following:
``(a) Scratch Cooking Pilot Program.--
``(1) Definition of scratch cooking.--In this subsection,
the term `scratch cooking' means the preparation of food using
ingredients that are unprocessed or minimally processed.
``(2) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of enactment of the Scratch Cooked Meals for Students Act
of 2026, the Secretary shall establish a pilot program
(referred to in this subsection as the `pilot program') to
award competitive grants to school food authorities to promote
scratch cooking.
``(3) Grant duration.--A grant awarded under the pilot
program shall be for a period of 2 school years.
``(4) Applications.--
``(A) In general.--To be eligible to receive a
grant under the pilot program, a school food authority
shall submit to the Secretary an application at such
time, in such manner, and containing such information
as the Secretary may require.
``(B) Priority.--In evaluating applications
received under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall
give the highest priority to school food authorities
that--
``(i) serve the greatest proportion of
students eligible for free or reduced price
lunch under this Act;
``(ii) are--
``(I) self-operated; or
``(II) provide an assurance to the
Secretary that the school food
authority will be self-operated on or
before the date that is 1 year before
the last day of the grant period; and
``(iii)(I) have employees who are
represented by a collective bargaining
agreement or memorandum of understanding, if
such employees are permitted by law to be so
represented; or
``(II) provide an assurance to the
Secretary that the school food authority will,
with respect to the employees of the school
food authority, negotiate a collective
bargaining agreement or memorandum of
understanding on or before the date that is 1
year before the last day of the grant period.
``(5) Eligible uses.--Eligible uses of a grant awarded
under the pilot program include--
``(A) promoting professional development and
training related to preparing, procuring, advertising,
serving, and creating menus of meals made with scratch
cooking;
``(B) purchasing cafeteria equipment or making
infrastructure modifications necessary for scratch
cooking;
``(C) compensating employees for additional food
preparation necessary for scratch cooking;
``(D) providing technical assistance, pupil
engagement, and education related to scratch cooking,
such as taste tests, recipe development, and culinary
education;
``(E) investing in software and technology systems
for procurement to support scratch cooking; and
``(F) carrying out any additional activities to
promote scratch cooking that will help school food
authorities meet or exceed 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).
``(6) Technical assistance.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall enter into
an agreement with 1 or more nonprofit organizations to
establish a technical assistance and resource center to
provide technical assistance to carry out subparagraphs
(A) through (C) of paragraph (5).
``(B) Collaboration requirement.--As soon as
practicable after receiving a grant under the pilot
program, a school food authority shall collaborate with
the technical assistance and resource center
established under subparagraph (A)--
``(i) to conduct a needs assessment to
evaluate equipment needs, equipment
utilization, procurement processes, and
workforce capabilities of the school food
authority; and
``(ii) based on that needs assessment, to
establish a strategic plan to carry out the
grant.
``(7) Report from school food authorities.--
``(A) In general.--Each school food authority that
receives a grant under the pilot program shall, not
later than 180 days after the conclusion of the grant
period, submit to the Secretary a report on the
activities carried out using the grant, including a
comparison of the factors described in subparagraph (B)
as of the school year immediately preceding the
beginning of the grant period and the school year at
the end of the grant period.
``(B) Factors described.--The factors referred to
in subparagraph (A) are--
``(i) the percentage of whole ingredients,
raw ingredients, or both, as a share of total
expenditures used in school meals; and
``(ii) the percentage of menu items
prepared with scratch cooking.
``(8) Authorization of appropriations.--
``(A) In general.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out the pilot program $20,000,000
for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031.
``(B) Reservations.--Of the amounts made available
under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall use--
``(i) not more than 15 percent to carry out
paragraph (6), including administrative
expenses; and
``(ii) not more than 5 percent for other
administrative expenses.''.
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