To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to require a school food authority to make publicly available any waiver of the Buy American requirement, and for other purposes.
About This Bill
Committee
Latest Action · July 13, 2023
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
The American Food for American Schools Act of 2023 strengthens requirements that school food authorities purchase domestic agricultural products for federal child nutrition programs, including school lunch, breakfast, and summer food service. Under current law, schools must buy American products "to the maximum extent practicable," but this bill removes that flexibility language and requires schools to purchase domestic products unless they obtain a specific waiver from the Secretary of Agriculture. Schools can only receive waivers if foreign products are unavailable or insufficient domestically, and waivers are capped at five percent of each school's annual food costs per food category. The bill requires schools to publicly notify parents annually about any foreign products purchased, establishes a publicly available federal list of all waivers granted, and mandates reporting by state education agencies to track compliance. Additionally, the legislation adds contract requirements ensuring suppliers comply with Buy American standards and creates penalties requiring noncompliant suppliers to repay federal funds used to purchase foreign goods in violation of these rules.
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