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S 401

Establishes the "tenant opportunity to purchase act"

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Jamaal Bailey and 20 co-sponsors

The bill requires school lunch entrées to be at least 50% healthy, fiber-rich, and whole-food-based while limiting ultra-processed and high-saturated-fat options.

REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO JUDICIARY
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Bill Summary · S 401

Summary — S.401: An Act relative to healthy school lunches

Status (from provided record)
- Introduced: February 4, 2025
- Primary sponsor / petitioner: Senator Jason M. Lewis (with Rebecca L. Rausch listed as a petitioner)
- Committee actions: Referred to committee (Education); hearing scheduled July 21, 2025; reported and committed to Judiciary (May 28, 2025)
- Related documents: SD 2174 (replacement), prior-session related bills S‑3157 and S‑221; companion HR 987 (per record)

Purpose
- To improve the nutritional quality of school lunches in Massachusetts public schools by (1) establishing nutrition standards for entrées served under the National School Lunch Program and (2) requiring public recognition of child nutrition (annual proclamation).

Key provisions
1. Massachusetts Child Nutrition Day
- Amends Chapter 6 to direct the governor to annually proclaim March 21 as “Massachusetts Child Nutrition Day.”

  1. New school nutrition requirements (Chapter 71, new Section 100)
    • Definitions: establishes terms including “food service management company,” “entrée” (meat/meat-alternate category under USDA standards), “fiber‑rich” (≥14 g fiber per 1,000 kcal from whole-food sources), “reimbursable meal” (USDA National School Lunch Program), and “ultra-processed food” (industrial formulations and certain additives).
    • Entrée composition target: At least 50% of entrées sold and served for lunch during school hours in a given school/district each week must be “healthy foods” containing whole grains, vegetables, fruits, legumes and other fiber‑rich proteins, as part of reimbursable NSLP offerings.
    • Limits on unhealthy entrées: No food service provider may sell or serve, as part of weekly reimbursable meal offerings, more than 20% of entrées that meet one or more of these criteria: (a) qualify as ultra-processed; (b) contain more than 30 mg cholesterol; (c) derive more than 5% of total calories from saturated fat.
    • Transparency: Each food service provider must keep itemized nutrition data and make it publicly available monthly to demonstrate compliance.
    • Phase‑in: Food service management companies get a 3‑year phase‑in beginning either (a) from the start date of their most recent contract with the school food authority, or (b) by the first day of the 2033–2034 school year — whichever comes first.

Who is affected
- Public school students (nutrition offerings)
- School food authorities and contracted food service management companies (menu planning, procurement, reporting)
- Potential indirect effects on local producers, vendors, and school budgets (sourcing whole foods, menu reformulation).

Implementation and enforcement
- The bill prescribes standards, reporting, and a phase‑in schedule. The text provided does not specify monetary penalties, enforcement mechanisms, or state funding to cover potential increased costs; these details would affect implementation and are not included.

Potential impacts
- Nutrition: Intended to increase whole-food, fiber-rich entrées and reduce ultra-processed and high-cholesterol/saturated‑fat options.
- Operational: Requires menu reformulation, increased nutrition tracking/reporting, and potential procurement changes for providers.
- Financial: Possible increased costs for food service providers and school districts (not addressed in the bill).
- Equity: Targets reimbursable NSLP meals, affecting free/reduced‑price and paid lunch offerings statewide.

Note on record inconsistencies
- The bill text and petitioners identify a Massachusetts state legislative measure (filed by Sen. Jason M. Lewis). The supplied metadata includes a long list of federal-level names/cosponsors that appear inconsistent with a state bill record; this summary follows the bill text and state-level sponsors/petitioners as provided.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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