Scratch Cooked Meals for Students Act

Summary of HR 8928: Scratch Cooked Meals for Students Act

Purpose and intent

• Establish a pilot program to promote scratch cooking in school meal programs.
• Define scratch cooking as the preparation of food using ingredients that are unprocessed or minimally processed.
• Provide grants to school food authorities (SFAs) to support efforts to increase scratch cooking and align with nutrition standards under the National School Lunch Act and the National School Breakfast Program.

Key provisions and changes

• Pilot program establishment

  • The Secretary of Agriculture must establish a scratch cooking pilot program within 180 days of enactment.
  • Grants are competitive and awarded to school food authorities (SFAs).

• Grant details

  • Grant duration: 2 school years.
  • Eligible uses of funds (examples):
  • Professional development and training for scratch-cooking-related activities (menu planning, procurement, serving, marketing).
  • Purchasing cafeteria equipment or making infrastructure improvements needed for scratch cooking.
  • Employee compensation for additional food preparation associated with scratch cooking.
  • Technical assistance, pupil engagement, taste tests, recipe development, and culinary education.
  • Software and technology to support procurement and scratch cooking.
  • Other activities that promote scratch cooking and help meet or exceed nutrition standards for school meals.

• Grant application priority criteria

  • Highest priority to SFAs that:
  • Serve the greatest proportion of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals.
  • Are self-operated or commit to being self-operated by one year before the grant end date.
  • Have or commit to collective bargaining coverage for employees (or commit to negotiating with employees by one year before the grant end date).

• Technical assistance and support

  • The Secretary must contract with one or more nonprofit organizations to operate a technical assistance and resource center.
  • SFAs must collaborate with the center after receiving a grant to:
  • Conduct needs assessments (equipment, utilization, procurement, workforce capabilities).
  • Develop a strategic plan to implement the grant activities.

• Reporting requirements

  • Within 180 days after the grant period ends, SFAs must report to the Secretary on changes relative to the prior year in:
  • The share of total meal expenditures using whole or raw ingredients versus processed items.
  • The percentage of menu items prepared with scratch cooking.

• Funding and appropriations

  • Authorized appropriations: $20,000,000 per fiscal year for 2027 through 2031.
  • Administrative reservations:
  • Up to 15% of the appropriation may be used for the technical assistance program and related administrative expenses.
  • Up to 5% may be used for other Department-level administrative expenses.

Who would be affected

• Primary: School food authorities (SFAs) participating in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program.
• Indirectly: Students receiving school meals, school nutrition staff, and school districts seeking to increase scratch-cooking capabilities.

Procedural and timeline notes

• Introduced and referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce in May 2026.
• Pilot program would commence within 180 days of enactment.
• Grant period lasts 2 school years; final reporting due 180 days after grant period ends.
• Administrative funding limits set to ensure program operations and guidance.

Potential impact

• Encourages expansion of scratch cooking in schools, potentially reducing reliance on highly processed foods.
• Aims to improve nutrition quality and transparency in school meals through ingredient use and menu changes.
• Provides technical and financial support to SFAs to upgrade infrastructure, training, and procurement practices.
• Emphasizes equity by prioritizing districts with higher concentrations of students eligible for free/reduced-price meals and supporting self-operation and workforce bargaining commitments.
• Creates a measurable reporting framework to track changes in ingredient use and scratch-cooked menu offerings.