HR 4249 · 113th Congress 2013–2015, ended

Helping Hungry Students Learn Act

Fact sheet

Latest action · Jun 13, 2014 Referred to the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education.

Progress

Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.

  1. IntroducedMar 13, 2014
  2. Passed HouseNot reached
  3. Passed SenateNot reached
  4. To the PresidentNot reached
  5. Became lawNot reached

Summary

Helping Hungry Students Learn Act - Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (Russell Act) to raise the eligibility level for free lunches under the school lunch program to 185% of the poverty level. (Currently it is set at 130%.)

Eliminates reduced price lunches, for which eligibility is currently set at 185% of the poverty level.

Amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to require schools participating in the school breakfast program to provide a free breakfast to each student who desires one. Sets the national average payment for each breakfast served to any child at the national average payment for each free breakfast served during the school year.

Requires states to provide additional assistance, in the form of higher breakfast reimbursement rates, to schools in which there is an alternative breakfast serving model to increase participation in the school breakfast program, such as by serving breakfast in the classroom or having a school breakfast cart.

Amends the Russell Act to direct the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to award grants to assist states with the initial costs of participating in a summer electronic benefits transfer for children program to improve children's access to food during the summer months.

Directs the Secretary to implement a pilot program providing commodities, on a competitive basis, to states to enable nonprofits to serve nutritious food to at-risk school children on weekends and during extended school holidays during the school year. (At-risk school children are those who participate in the school lunch program and reside in an area served by a school in which at least 50% of the students receive free or reduced price meals under the school lunch or breakfast programs.) Includes elementary and secondary schools, school food authorities, food banks or pantries, homeless shelters, and other Secretary-approved emergency feeding agencies as eligible nonprofit program participants. Requires the nonprofits serving such commodities to satisfy safe food storage, handling, and delivery standards established by the Secretary.

Cosponsors 29

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Mar 13, 2014 to Nov 12, 2014, with 13 there on the day it was introduced.

SeatCosponsorSigned on
D-WIGwen MooreOriginalMar 13, 2014
D-GAHenry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr.OriginalMar 13, 2014
D-CAJared HuffmanOriginalMar 13, 2014
D-COJared PolisOriginalMar 13, 2014
D-MIJohn Conyers, Jr.OriginalMar 13, 2014
D-NYJose E. SerranoOriginalMar 13, 2014
D-CAJuan VargasOriginalMar 13, 2014
D-MAKatherine M. ClarkOriginalMar 13, 2014
D-OHMarcia L. FudgeOriginalMar 13, 2014
D-PAMatt CartwrightOriginalMar 13, 2014
D-FLTheodore E. DeutchOriginalMar 13, 2014
D-CATony CárdenasOriginalMar 13, 2014
D-NYYvette D. ClarkeOriginalMar 13, 2014
D-CASusan A. DavisMar 24, 2014
D-WIMark PocanApr 2, 2014

Actions 3

Everything that happened, newest first.

  1. Jun 13, 2014Referred to the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education.
  2. Mar 13, 2014Introduced in House
  3. Mar 13, 2014Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Education.

Text 1

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

  1. Mar 13, 2014Introduced in House

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Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.