Scratch Cooked Meals for Students Act of 2026

This Act may be cited as the “Scratch Cooked Meals for Students Act of 2026”.

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.”.