§6664. School Meal Equipment and Program Improvement Fund
1.
School Meal Equipment and Program Improvement Fund.
The School Meal Equipment and Program Improvement Fund, referred to in this section as "the fund," is established in the department to issue grants to eligible school administrative units to improve school meal equipment and programs. The fund consists of money received as appropriations, allocations and contributions from private and public sources. The fund must be held separate and apart from all other money, funds and accounts. Eligible investment earnings credited to the assets of the fund become part of the assets of the fund. Any unexpended balances remaining in the fund at the end of any fiscal year do not lapse and must be carried forward to the next fiscal year. The fund may be used to provide grants to eligible school administrative units to:
A.
Purchase school kitchen and cafeteria equipment needed to serve healthy meals that meet federal nutrition standards;
[PL 2023, c. 457, §1 (NEW).]
B.
Improve food safety in school kitchens and cafeterias;
[PL 2023, c. 457, §1 (NEW).]
C.
Support the maintenance and expansion of the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program within the school administrative unit; and
[PL 2023, c. 457, §1 (NEW).]
D.
Reimburse food costs related to medically necessary dietary restrictions of students.
[PL 2023, c. 457, §1 (NEW).]
For the purposes of this subsection, "eligible school administrative unit" means a school administrative unit that participates in the National School Lunch Program under 7 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 210 and the School Breakfast Program under 7 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 220 and that meets federal compliance requirements established by the United States Department of Agriculture for those programs.
[PL 2023, c. 457, §1 (NEW).]
2.
Federal grant funding.
The department shall apply for any federal grants available for the purposes of this section.
[PL 2023, c. 457, §1 (NEW).]
3.
Rules.
The department shall adopt routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2‑A to carry out the purposes of the fund.
[PL 2023, c. 457, §1 (NEW).]
SECTION HISTORY
PL 2023, c. 457, §1 (NEW).