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.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [S. 4599 Introduced in Senate (IS)] <DOC> 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 fo