To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to establish a pilot program promoting scratch cooking in school meal programs.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 8928 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 8928 To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to establish a pilot program promoting scratch cooking in school meal programs. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES May 20, 2026 Mrs. Hayes (for herself, Mr. Fitzpatrick, and Ms. Brownley) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to establish a pilot program promoting scratch cooking in school meal programs. 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''. 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 new subsection: ``(a) Scratch Cooking Pilot Program.-- ``(1) In general.-- ``(A) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this subsection, the Secretary shall establish a pilot program to award competitive grants to school food authorities to promote scratch cooking. ``(B) Scratch cooking defined.--In this subsection, the term `scratch cooking' means the preparation of food using ingredients that are unprocessed or minimally processed. ``(2) Grant amounts and duration.--A grant awarded under this subsection shall be made for a period of 2 school years. ``(3) Eligible uses.--A grant awarded under this subsection shall be used by a school food authority to promote scratch cooking, which may include-- ``(A) promoting professional developme