§1788. Nutrition education and training
(a) Congressional findings
Congress finds that-
(1) the proper nutrition of the Nation's children is a matter of highest priority;
(2) the lack of understanding of the principles of good nutrition and their relationship to health can contribute to a child's rejection of highly nutritious foods and consequent plate waste in school food service operations;
(3) many school food service personnel have not had adequate training in food service management skills and principles, and many teachers and school food service operators have not had adequate training in the fundamentals of nutrition or how to convey this information so as to motivate children to practice sound eating habits;
(4) parents exert a significant influence on children in the development of nutritional habits and lack of nutritional knowledge on the part of parents can have detrimental effects on children's nutritional development; and
(5) there is a need to create opportunities for children to learn about the importance of the principles of good nutrition in their daily lives and how these principles are applied in the school cafeteria.
(b) Statement of purpose
It is the purpose of this section to encourage effective dissemination of scientifically valid information to children participating or eligible to participate in the school lunch and related child nutrition programs by establishing a system of grants to State educational agencies for the development of comprehensive nutrition education and training programs. Such nutrition education programs shall fully use as a learning laboratory the school lunch and child nutrition programs.
(c) "Nutrition education and training program" defined
For purposes of this section, the term "nutrition education and training program" means a multidisciplinary program by which scientifically valid information about foods and nutrients is imparted in a manner that individuals receiving such information will understand the principles of nutrition and seek to maximize their well-being through food consumption practices. Nutrition education programs shall include, but not be limited to, (A) instructing students with regard to the nutritional value of foods and the relationship between food and human health; (B) training child nutrition program personnel in the principles and practices of food service management; (C) instructing teachers in sound principles of nutrition education; (D) developing and using classroom materials and curricula; and (E) providing information to parents and caregivers regarding the nutritional value of food and the relationship between food and health.
(d) Nutrition education and training; grants; coordination with other nutrition activities; coordination with Department of Health and Human Services: transfer of funds; State contracts: nutrition training grants and pilot projects
(1) The Secretary is authorized to formulate and carry out a nutrition education and training program, through a system of grants to State educational agencies, to provide for (A) the nutritional training of educational and food service personnel, (B) training school food service personnel in the principles and practices of food service management, in cooperation with materials developed at any food service management institute established as authorized by section 21(a)(2) of the National School Lunch Act [42 U.S.C. 1769b–1(a)(2)], and (C) the conduct of nutrition education activities in schools, child care institutions, and institutions offering summer food service programs under section 13 of the National School Lunch Act [42 U.S.C. 1761], and the provision of nutrition education to parents and caregivers.
(2) The program is to be coordinated at the State level with other nutrition activities conducted by education, health, and State Cooperative Extension Service agencies. In formulating the program, the Secretary and the State may solicit the advice and recommendations of State educational agencies, the Department of Health and Human Services, and other interested groups and individuals concerned with improvement of child nutrition.
(3) If a State educational agency is conducting or applying to conduct a health education program which includes a school-related nutrition education component as defined by the Secretary, and that health education program is eligible for funds under programs administered by the Department of Health and Human Services, the Secretary may make funds authorized in this section available to the Department of Health and Human Services to fund the nutrition education component of the State program without requiring an additional grant application.
(4) The Secretary, in carrying out the provisions of this subsection, shall make grants to State educational agencies who, in turn, may contract with land-grant colleges eligible to receive funds under the Act of July 2, 1862 [7 U.S.C. 301 et seq.], or the Act of August 30, 1890 [7 U.S.C. 321 et seq.], including the Tuskegee Institute, other institutions of higher education, and nonprofit organizations and agencies, for the training of educational, school food service, child care, and summer food service personnel with respect to providing nutrition education programs in schools and the training of school food service personnel in school food service management, in coordination with the activities authorized under section 21 of the National School Lunch Act [42 U.S.C. 1769b–1]. Such grants may be used to develop and conduct training programs for early childhood, elementary, and secondary educational personnel and food service personnel with respect to the relationship between food, nutrition, and health; educational methods and techniques, and issues relating to nutrition education; and principles and skills of food service management for cafeteria personnel.
(5) The State, in carrying out the provisions of this subsection, may contract with State and local educational agencies, land-grant colleges eligible to receive funds under the Act of July 2, 1862 [7 U.S.C. 301 et seq.], or the act of August 30, 1890 [7 U.S.C. 321 et seq.], including the Tuskegee Institute, other institutions of higher education, and other public or private nonprofit educational or research agencies, institutions, or organizations to pay the cost of pilot demonstration projects in elementary and secondary schools, and in child care institutions and summer food service institutions, with respect to nutrition education. Such projects may include, but are not limited to, projects for the development, demonstration, testing, and evaluation of curricula for use in early childhood, elementary, and secondary education programs.
(e) Agreements with State agencies; regulations
The Secretary is authorized to enter into agreements with State educational agencies incorporating the provisions of this section, and issue such regulations as are necessary to implement this section.
(f) Use of funds; planning and assessment grants; administrative expenses
(1)(A) The funds made available under this section may, under guidelines established by the Secretary, be used by State educational agencies for-
(i) employing a nutrition education specialist to coordinate the program, including travel and related personnel costs;
(ii) undertaking an assessment of the nutrition education needs of the State;
(iii) developing a State plan of operation and management for nutrition education;
(iv) applying for and carrying out planning and assessment grants;
(v) pilot projects and related purposes;
(vi) the planning, development, and conduct of nutrition education programs and workshops for food service and educational personnel;
(vii) coordinating and promoting nutrition education and training activities in local school districts (incorporating, to the maximum extent practicable, as a learning laboratory, the child nutrition programs);
(viii) contracting with public and private nonprofit educational institutions for the conduct of nutrition education instruction and programs relating to the purposes of this section;
(ix) providing funding for a nutrition component that can be offered in consumer and homemaking education programs as well as in the health education curriculum offered to children in kindergarten through grade 12;
(x) instructing teachers, school administrators, or other school staff on how to promote better nutritional health and to motivate children from a variety of linguistic and cultural backgrounds to practice sound eating habits;
(xi) developing means of providing nutrition education in language appropriate materials to children and families of children through after-school programs;
(xii) training in relation to healthy and nutritious meals;
(xiii) creating instructional programming, including language appropriate materials and programming, for teachers, school food service personnel, and parents on the relationships between nutrition and health and the role of the Food Guide Pyramid established by the Secretary;
(xiv) funding aspects of the Strategic Plan for Nutrition and Education issued by the Secretary;
(xv) encouraging public service advertisements, including language appropriate materials and advertisements, to promote healthy eating habits for children;
(xvi) coordinating and promoting nutrition education and training activities in local school districts (incorporating, to the maximum extent practicable, as a learning laboratory, child nutrition programs);
(xvii) contracting with public and private nonprofit educational institutions for the conduct of nutrition education instruction and programs relating to the purpose of this section;
(xviii) increasing public awareness of the importance of breakfasts for providing the energy necessary for the cognitive development of school-age children;
(xix) coordinating and promoting nutrition education and training activities carried out under child nutrition programs, including the summer food service program for children established under section 13 of the National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1761) and the child and adult care food program established under section 17 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1766); and
(xx) related nutrition education purposes, including the preparation, testing, distribution, and evaluation of visual aids and other informational and educational materials.
(B) As used in this paragraph, the term "language appropriate" used with respect to materials, programming, or advertisements means materials, programming, or advertisements, respectively, using a language other than the English language in a case in which the language is dominant for a large percentage of individuals participating in the program.
(2) Any State desiring to receive grants authorized by this section may, from the funds appropriated to carry out this section, receive a planning and assessment grant for the purposes of carrying out the responsibilities described in clauses (A), (B), (C), and (D) of paragraph (1) of this subsection. Any State receiving a planning and assessment grant, may, during the first year of participation, be advanced a portion of the funds necessary to carry out such responsibilities: Provided, That in order to receive additional funding, the State must carry out such responsibilities.
(3) A State agency may use an amount equal to not more than 15 percent of the funds made available through a grant under this section for expenditures for administrative purposes in connection with the program authorized under this section if the State makes available at least an equal amount for administrative or program purposes in connection with the program.
(4) Nothing in this section shall prohibit State or local educational agencies from making available or distributing to adults nutrition education materials, resources, activities, or programs authorized under this section.
(g) Accounts, records, and reports; inspection, audit, and preservation
(1) State educational agencies participating in programs under this section shall keep such accounts and records as may be necessary to enable the Secretary to determine whether there has been compliance with this section and the regulations issued hereunder. Such accounts and records shall at all times be available for inspection and audit by representatives of the Secretary and shall be preserved for such period of time, not in excess of five years, as the Secretary determines to be necessary.
(2) State educational agencies shall provide reports on expenditures of Federal funds, program participation, program costs, and related matters, in such form and at such times as the Secretary may prescribe.
(h) State coordinators for nutrition; duties; budget and need assessment; State plan, contents, review, public hearings
(1) In order to be eligible for assistance under this section, a State shall appoint a nutrition education specialist to serve as a State coordinator for school nutrition education. It shall be the responsibility of the State coordinator to make an assessment of the nutrition education needs in the State as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, prepare a State plan as provided in paragraph (3) of this subsection, and coordinate programs under this chapter with all other nutrition education programs provided by the State with Federal or State funds.
(2) Upon receipt of funds authorized by this section, the State coordinator shall prepare an itemized budget and assess the nutrition education and training needs of the State. Such assessment shall include, but not be limited to, the identification and location of all students in need of nutrition education. The assessment shall also identify State and local individual, group, and institutional resources within the State for materials, facilities, staffs, and methods related to nutrition education.
(3) Within nine months after the award of the planning and assessment grant, the State coordinator shall develop, prepare, and furnish the Secretary, for approval, a comprehensive plan for nutrition education within such State. The Secretary shall act on such plan not later than sixty days after it is received. Each such plan shall describe (A) the findings of the nutrition education needs assessment within the State; (B) provisions for coordinating the nutrition education program carried out with funds made available under this section with any related publicly supported programs being carried out within the State; (C) plans for soliciting the advice and recommendations of the State educational agency, interested teachers, food nutrition professionals and paraprofessionals, school food service personnel, administrators, representatives from consumer groups, parents, and other individuals concerned with the improvement of child nutrition; (D) plans for reaching all students in the State with instruction in the nutritional value of foods and the relationships among food, nutrition, and health, for training food service personnel in the principles and skills of food service management, and for instructing teachers in sound principles of nutrition education; (E) plans for using, on a priority basis, the resources of the land-grant colleges eligible to receive funds under the Act of July 2, 1862 [7 U.S.C. 301 et seq.], or the Act of August 30, 1890 [7 U.S.C. 321 et seq.], including the Tuskegee Institute; and (F) a comprehensive plan for providing nutrition education during the first fiscal year beginning after the submission of the plan and the succeeding 4 fiscal years. To the maximum extent practicable, the State's performance under such plan shall be reviewed and evaluated by the Secretary on a regular basis, including the use of public hearings. Each plan developed as required by this section shall be updated on an annual basis.
(i) Authorization of appropriations; enrollment data
(1) For the fiscal years beginning October 1, 1977, and October 1, 1978, grants to the States for the conduct of nutrition education and information programs shall be based on a rate of 50 cents for each child enrolled in schools or in institutions within the State, except that no State shall receive an amount less than $75,000 per year.
(2)(A) Out of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, and in addition to any amounts otherwise made available for fiscal year 1995, the Secretary of the Treasury shall provide to the Secretary $1,000 for fiscal year 1995 and $10,000,000 for fiscal year 1996 and each succeeding fiscal year for making grants under this section to each State for the conduct of nutrition education and training programs. The Secretary shall be entitled to receive the funds and shall accept the funds.
(B)(i)(I) Subject to clause (ii), grants to each State from the amounts appropriated under subparagraph (A) shall be based on a rate of 50 cents for each child enrolled in schools or institutions within such State.
(II) If the amount appropriated for any fiscal year is insufficient to pay the amount to which each State is entitled under subclause (I), the amount of each grant shall be ratably reduced. If additional funds become available for making such payments, such amounts shall be increased on the same basis as they were reduced.
(ii) No State shall receive an amount that is less than-
(I) $50,000, in any fiscal year in which the amount appropriated for purposes of this section is less than $10,000,000;
(II) $62,500, in any fiscal year in which the amount appropriated for purposes of this section is $10,000,000 or more but is less than $15,000,000;
(III) $68,750, in any fiscal year in which the amount appropriated for purposes of this section is $15,000,000 or more but is less than $20,000,000; and
(IV) $75,000 in any fiscal year in which the amount appropriated for purposes of this section is $20,000,000 or more.
(3) Funds made available to any State under this section shall remain available to the State for obligation in the fiscal year succeeding the fiscal year in which the funds were received by the State.
(4) Enrollment data used for purposes of this subsection shall be the latest available as certified by the Department of Education.
(j) Assessment of program
(1) The Secretary shall assess the nutrition education and training program carried out under this section to determine what nutrition education needs are for children participating under the National School Lunch Act [42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.] in the school lunch program, the summer food service program, and the child care food program.
(2) The assessment required by paragraph (1) shall be completed not later than October 1, 1990.
(
References in Text
Act of July 2, 1862, referred to in subsecs. (d)(4), (5) and (h)(3), is act July 2, 1862, ch. 130,
Act of August 30, 1890, referred to in subsecs. (d)(4), (5) and (h)(3), is act Aug. 30, 1890, ch. 841,
The National School Lunch Act, referred to in subsec. (j)(1), is act June 4, 1946, ch. 281,
Codification
Amendments
1994-Subsec. (b).
Subsec. (c).
Subsec. (d)(1).
Subsec. (d)(4).
Subsec. (d)(5).
Subsec. (f)(1)(A).
Subsec. (f)(1)(A)(i) to (viii).
Subsec. (f)(1)(A)(ix).
Subsec. (f)(1)(A)(x) to (xix).
Subsec. (f)(1)(A)(xx).
Subsec. (f)(1)(B).
Subsec. (f)(1)(C) to (F).
Subsec. (f)(1)(G).
Subsec. (f)(1)(H), (I).
Subsec. (f)(3).
Subsec. (h).
Subsec. (i)(2)(A).
"(i) $10,000,000 for the fiscal year 1990;
"(ii) $15,000,000 for the fiscal year 1991;
"(iii) $20,000,000 for the fiscal year 1992; and
"(iv) $25,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 1993 and 1994."
Subsec. (i)(3), (4).
Subsec. (j)(1).
1989-Subsec. (d)(1)(B).
Subsec. (d)(1)(C).
Subsec. (d)(2).
Subsec. (d)(4).
Subsec. (d)(5).
Subsec. (h)(3).
Subsec. (i)(2).
Subsec. (j).
1986-Subsec. (d)(2), (3).
Subsecs. (i), (j).
1981-Subsec. (d)(6).
Subsec. (j)(2).
1980-Subsec. (j)(2).
Effective Date of 1994 Amendment
Amendment by
Effective Date of 1981 Amendment
Amendment by
Termination of Advisory Councils
Advisory councils established after Jan. 5, 1973, to terminate not later than the expiration of the 2-year period beginning on the date of their establishment, unless, in the case of a council established by the President or an officer of the Federal Government, such council is renewed by appropriate action prior to the expiration of such 2-year period, or in the case of a council established by the Congress, its duration is otherwise provided by law. See sections 3(2) and 14 of
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 1758, 1769b–1, 1769h of this title.