42 U.S.C. § 1769a — Fresh fruit and vegetable program

(a) Beginning with the school year starting in July 2008, and every later school year, the Secretary^* must give States grants for a program making free fresh fruits and vegetables available in elementary schools.

(b) A participating school must make the free fruits and vegetables available throughout the school day, or at other times the Secretary approves, in one or more areas the school designates.

(c)(1) Except as provided in subsection (i)(2), each State^* and the District of Columbia must receive an annual grant equal to 1 percent of that year’s program funds. (2) After those grants, the Secretary must distribute remaining funds to each State operating a section 1753 school lunch program according to the State’s share of the United States population.

(d)(1) Except for the stated statutory exceptions, each State must each year select schools that (A) have at least 50 percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals and submit the required application; (B) receive, as far as practicable, the highest priority if they have the highest proportion of children eligible for free or reduced-price meals; (C) are elementary schools as defined in section 7801 of title 20; (D) submit information about eligible students, signed support from the food manager, principal, and superintendent or equivalent, an implementation plan connecting the program with health, nutrition, weight, obesity, or physical-activity efforts, and other requested information; and (E) are encouraged to partner with entities providing non-Federal resources, including fruit and vegetable industry entities. (2) The 50-percent rule does not apply when all schools meeting it have been selected and the State lacks enough additional schools meeting it. (3)(A) Before deciding participation, the State agency must inform the schools with the highest free- and reduced-price eligibility, including Native American schools, about eligibility and priority. (B) It must identify the schools likely to be chosen under the priority rule.

(e) A selected school must widely publicize inside the school that the free food is available.

(f) The State agency sets each school’s per-student grant, which must be at least $50 and no more than $75.

(g) As far as practicable, schools must offer these fruits and vegetables separately from meals provided under this chapter or the Child^* Nutrition Act of 1966.

(h)(1) The Secretary must evaluate whether participation caused children to eat more fruits and vegetables, make other diet changes such as eating fewer less-nutritious foods, or experience other outcomes the Secretary considers appropriate. (2) By September 30, 2011, the Secretary must report the evaluation to the named House and Senate committees.

(i)(1) From the specified section 612c–6 funds, the Secretary must use $40,000,000 on October 1, 2008; $65,000,000 on July 1, 2009; $101,000,000 on July 1, 2010; $150,000,000 on July 1, 2011; and, on July 1, 2012 and each July 1 after that, the preceding fiscal year’s amount adjusted by the specified nonfood Consumer Price Index change. (2) State allocations must preserve each State’s caseload level if it received section 1769(f) money the day before the 2008 Act was enacted. (3) On October 1, 2008, $3,000,000 must fund the subsection (h) evaluation and remain available until September 30, 2010. (4) The Secretary shall be entitled to receive, shall accept, and shall use the transferred funds without further appropriation. (5) Congress may appropriate sums needed to expand the program. (6) The Secretary may use no more than $500,000 per fiscal year for administration, and must allow each State to reserve the amount needed for administration, adjusted for State size and grant size and capped at one full-time coordinator’s cost. (7) The Secretary may reallocate unspent or unobligated amounts among States by a date it sets; a State may likewise reallocate its unspent or unobligated grant amounts by a date the Secretary sets.