S. 5184

117 S5184 IS: Feeding Our Rural Kids Act of 2026
 U.S. Senate
 2026-07-30
 text/xml
 EN
 Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
 II  119th CONGRESS  2d Session  S. 5184  IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES   July 30, 2026   Mr. Merkley  (for himself,  Mr. Welch , and  Mr. Wyden ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the  Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry    A BILL
To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to establish a summer meal delivery vehicle pilot program, and for other purposes.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Feeding Our Rural Kids Act of 2026   or the   FORK Act of 2026  .
2.
Summer meal delivery vehicle pilot program
Section 13(a) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1761(a) ) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(14)
Summer meal delivery vehicle pilot program
(A)
Definition of eligible entity
In this paragraph, the term  eligible entity  means a service institution.
(B)
Establishment
The Secretary shall establish a pilot program (referred to in this paragraph as the  pilot program ), to be carried out beginning with the first summer following the date that is 180 days after the date of enactment of this paragraph, to award grants to eligible entities to purchase, retrofit, or repair vehicles to facilitate the distribution of noncongregate meals made available pursuant to this section.
(C)
Priority
In awarding grants under the pilot program, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities located in—
(i)
an area in which poor economic conditions exist;
(ii)
an area outside a core-based statistical area (as defined in section 4 of the MAPS Act of 2021 ( 31 U.S.C. 6102  note;  Public Law 117–219 )); and
(iii)
an area that serves a high proportion of students from socially disadvantaged backgrounds.
(D)
Locations
In awarding grants under the pilot program, the Secretary shall ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that eligible entities receiving grants are located in different States.
(E)
Grants
(i)
Term
The term of a grant awarded under the pilot program shall be 1 year.
(ii)
Maximum amount
The amount of a grant awarded under the pilot program shall not exceed $100,000.
(iii)
Administrative expenses
An eligible entity awarded a grant under the pilot program shall use not more than 10 percent of grant funds for administrative expenses.
(iv)
Report requirement
An eligible entity awarded a grant under the pilot program shall periodically submit to the Secretary, at such intervals as determined by the Secretary, a report describing the use and impact of the grant funds, including—
(I)
the number of sites, and type of sites, that benefitted from the grant funds;
(II)
the number of children served as a result of the grant funds; and
(F)
Technical assistance; best practices
The Secretary shall provide technical assistance to, and share best practices with, eligible entities that receive grants under the pilot program.
(G)
Report
Not later than 4 years after the date of establishment of the pilot program, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the administration of the pilot program, including a summary of the reports received by the Secretary under subparagraph (E)(iv).
(H)
Authorization of appropriations
There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out the pilot program $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2029.
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