Scratch Cooked Meals for Students Act

The Scratch Cooked Meals for Students Act establishes a federal pilot program to award competitive grants to school districts for promoting scratch cooking - preparing meals from unprocessed or minimally processed ingredients - in school meal programs. Grants, totaling $20 million annually from 2024-2028, cover staff training, kitchen equipment, menu development, and technical assistance, with priority given to districts serving high numbers of low-income students. School districts receiving grants must report annual changes in ingredient sourcing and scratch-cooked meal percentages. The program aims to help schools meet federal nutrition standards through direct funding for infrastructure and staff support, without altering existing meal requirements.