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
Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
This bill strengthens "Buy American" requirements for school meal programs by requiring schools to purchase domestic food products whenever possible and establishing new transparency measures. Schools must now request federal waivers before purchasing foreign-produced food for lunch, breakfast, summer meal, and child care programs, though waivers are limited to five percent of each school's annual food costs for items unavailable domestically in sufficient quality. Schools must notify parents annually about any foreign food purchases and report waiver requests to state education agencies, which then compile this information for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to publish on a public website within 90 days. The bill also increases federal funding for Buy American training programs from one million to five million dollars for fiscal years 2023 through 2028, and requires suppliers to include Buy American compliance clauses in their contracts with schools, with financial penalties for noncompliance. The legislation affects all school food authorities across the country that participate in federal child nutrition programs.
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