Food for Thought Act of 2023
This bill allows the Department of Education to award grants for eligible institutions of higher education to provide free meals to low-income students through on-campus meal programs.
[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4812 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4812
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of
Education to make grants to institutions of higher education to provide
free meals to low-income students through existing on-campus meal
programs, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 20, 2023
Mr. Schiff (for himself, Ms. Barragan, Mr. Bowman, Ms. Bush, Mr.
Cardenas, Mr. Carson, Ms. Clarke of New York, Ms. Dean of Pennsylvania,
Mr. DeSaulnier, Ms. Escobar, Mr. Evans, Mrs. Hayes, Mr. Huffman, Mr.
Jackson of Illinois, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Meng, Ms. Moore of
Wisconsin, Mr. Nadler, Ms. Norton, Mr. Panetta, Mr. Payne, Ms. Porter,
Mr. Sablan, Ms. Sanchez, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. Sewell, Ms. Stansbury, Mr.
Thompson of Mississippi, Ms. Titus, Ms. Velazquez, Mrs. Watson Coleman,
and Ms. Wilson of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of
Education to make grants to institutions of higher education to provide
free meals to low-income students through existing on-campus meal
programs, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Food for Thought Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. FREE MEALS FOR LOW-INCOME COLLEGE STUDENTS.
Part A of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1070 et seq.) is amended by inserting after subpart 7 the following:
``Subpart 8--Meals for Low-Income Students
``SEC. 420A. FREE MEALS FOR LOW-INCOME STUDENTS.
``(a) Authorization.--From amounts made available under subsection
(j), the Secretary is authorized to award grants, on a competitive
basis, to eligible entities to provide free meals to low-income
students through on-campus meal programs.
``(b) Applications.--
``(1) In general.--An eligible entity desiring to receive
an award under subsection (a) shall submit an application to
the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such
information as the Secretary may require. Such application
shall include--
``(A) a plan for identifying eligible students and
conducting outreach; and
``(B) an assurance that the eligible entity will--
``(i) conduct outreach to students with
respect to the grant program under this
section, encourage student participation in
such program, and inform students of--
``(I) their potential eligibility
for participation in other Federal,
State, and local benefit and support
programs, including means-tested
Federal benefits programs such as SNAP;
and
``(II) the processes for obtaining
more information, confirming
eligibility, and accessing benefits
under such programs;
``(ii) evaluate institutional policies
relating to the purchase of on-campus meal
plans and whether such policies create barriers
to enrollment and persistence for low-income
students;
``(iii) identify ways to mitigate any
institutional policies that are found, through
the evaluation described in clause (ii), to
create barriers described in such clause; and
``(iv) in the case of an eligible entity
that is a consortia of eligible institutions of
higher education that includes eligible
institutions that do not have on-campus meal
programs, provide an explanation with respect
to how the eligible entity will ensure that
low-income students attending such institutions
will be able to easily access free meals
provided under this section.
``(2) Priority.--In awarding grants under this section, the
Secretary shall give priority to--
``(A) an eligible entity that is an eligible
institution of higher education that is--
``(i) a community college;
``(ii) a minority-serving institution
described in section 371(a); or
``(iii) located in an area served by a
local educational agency that is eligible for
special assistance payments under section
11(a)(1) of the Richard B. Russell National
School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1759a(a)(1)); and
``(B) an eligible entity that is a consortia of
eligible institutions of higher education, in which at
least 50 percent of such institutions meet at least 1
of the requirements under clauses (i) through (iii) of
subparagraph (A).
``(c) Mandatory Activities.--
``(1) In general.--An eligible entity that receives a grant
under this section shall use such grant funds to provide,
through on-campus meal programs, not fewer than 1, and not more
than 10, free meals per week to each low-income student
selected by such entity to participate in the program under
this section.
``(2) Priority.--In selecting low-income students to
participate in the program under this section, an eligible
entity shall give priority to--
``(A) students with the greatest financial need;
and
``(B) students who indicate that they are
experiencing food insecurity, housing insecurity,
homelessness, or other insecurity with respect to basic
needs.
``(d) Permissible Activities.--In addition to the mandatory
activities in subsection (c), an eligible entity that receives a grant
under this section may use not more than 10 percent of such grant funds
to--
``(1) facilitate the enrollment of on-campus vendors as
authorized retailers in SNAP;
``(2) support the operation of an on-campus food pantry;
and
``(3) purchase food infrastructure equipment, including
microwaves, refrigerators, and other such equipment determined
by the Secretary to be necessary.
``(e) Administrative Costs.--Not more than 5 percent of the grant
funds provided to an eligible entity under this section for any fiscal
year may be used for administrative purposes.
``(f) Grant Period.--Grants awarded to eligible entities under this
section shall be for a period of 5 years.
``(g) Campus Meal Program.--Eligible entities receiving grants
under this section may contract with third-party food service vendors
to provide on-campus meals.
``(h) Reports.--
``(1) Recipient reports.--
``(A) In general.--At the end of the 5-year grant
period, an eligible entity that receives a grant under
this section shall submit to the Secretary a report
on--
``(i) how such entity used the grant funds,
including the shares of such funds used for
each of the activities described in subsections
(c), (d)(1), and (d)(2); and
``(ii) the success rates of students who
participated in the grant program under this
section (using benchmarks such as persistence,
coursework completion, transfer, and completion
rates).
``(B) Disaggregation.--The information reported in
subparagraph (A)(ii) shall be disaggregated, where
possible, by--
``(i) race;
``(ii) ethnicity;
``(iii) Pell recipient status;
``(iv) income;
``(v) gender; and
``(vi) age.
``(2) Secretary report.--
``(A) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the
Secretary receives the reports required under paragraph
(1), the Secretary shall submit a report to Congress on
the overall impact of the program under this section.
``(B) Disaggregation.--The information described in
subparagraph (A) shall be disaggregated, where
possible, by--
``(i) sectors and types of institutions;
``(ii) whether an institution is a
minority-serving institution described in
section 371(a); and
``(iii) whether an institution has an open
admissions policy.
``(i) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that an
eligible entity awarded a grant under this section should, to the
extent practicable--
``(1) ensure meals served pursuant to a grant under this
section are consistent with the nutritional requirements and
goals of the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans
published under section 301 of the National Nutrition
Monitoring and Related Research Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5341);
``(2) ensure access to vegetarian meals, vegan meals,
culturally and religiously appropriate meals, and meals that
accommodate common food allergies;
``(3) build and encourage the use of on-campus food
pantries;
``(4) encourage on-campus vendors to increase the use of
climate-friendly options; and
``(5) buy products to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions
associated with providing free meals to students and purchasing
food infrastructure equipment.
``(j) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section such sums as may be necessary
for fiscal year 2023 and each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.
``(k) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Community college.--The term `community college'
means a public institution of higher education at which the
highest degree that is predominantly awarded to students is an
associate's degree, including 2-year Tribal Colleges or
Universities under section 316 and public 2-year institutions
of higher education operated by a State.
``(2) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' means--
``(A) an eligible institution of higher education
that has an on-campus meal program that is provided
through an institutionally owned or operated food
service or one or more third-party food service
vendors; or
``(B) a consortia of eligible institutions of
higher education, of which at least one has an on-
campus meal program that is provided through an
institutionally owned or operated food service or one
or more third-party food service vendors, provided that
such an eligible institution with an on-campus meal
program is geographically accessible to the students of
the eligible institutions that do not have on-campus
meal programs.
``(3) Eligible institution of higher education.--The term
`eligible institution of higher education' means an institution
of higher education under section 101 or 102(a)(1)(B) in which
at least 30 percent of the undergraduate students enrolled at
such institution are eligible to receive a Federal Pell Grant.
``(4) Snap.--The term `SNAP' means the supplemental
nutrition assistance program (as defined in section 3(t) of the
Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2012(t))).''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
Llama 3.2 · runs locally in your browser
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line