The Scratch Cooked Meals for Students Act would establish a federal grant program to help schools prepare meals from scratch using unprocessed or minimally processed ingredients rather than pre-made foods. The Department of Agriculture would award competitive two-year grants to school food authorities, with priority given to schools serving high proportions of low-income students and those that are self-operated or have unionized food service workers. Schools could use grant funds for staff training and compensation, cafeteria equipment purchases, kitchen improvements, nutrition education, and procurement technology to support scratch cooking. The legislation authorizes $20 million annually from 2024 through 2028 to support the program, with 15 percent reserved for technical assistance from nonprofit organizations and 5 percent for administrative costs. Schools receiving grants must report back to the Department of Agriculture after the grant period ends to show how much they increased their use of whole and raw ingredients and menu items prepared from scratch.
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