Better Nutrition and Health for Children Act of 1994

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: School Lunch and Related Programs Title II: School Breakfast and Related Programs Title III: Other Related Provisions Title IV: Effective Dates Better Nutrition and Health for Children Act of 1994 - Amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (CNA) and the National School Lunch Act (NSLA) to revise and reauthorize child nutrition programs. Title I: School Lunch and Related Programs - Amends NSLA to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to deliver, to each State participating in the school lunch program, commodities valued at the total authorized level of assistance for each school year by September 30 of the following school year. (Sec. 102) Authorizes the Secretary to enter into an agreement with a State agency under which certain funds payable to the State may be used by the Secretary to purchase commodities for use in the school lunch program. (Sec. 103) Directs the Secretary to provide technical assistance and training to schools and other entities to ensure compliance with nutritional requirements under the school lunch program, including assistance in preparing lower-fat versions of foods commonly used in the program and in providing appropriate meals to children with medically certified special needs. Requires that minimum nutritional requirements be based, at a minimum, on the weekly average nutrient content. (Sec. 104) Requires that school lunch program lunches offer students fluid milk, removing the requirement that there be a choice of both whole milk and unflavored lowfat milk. Authorizes State educational agencies (SEAs) to require schools to offer any type of milk. Directs the Secretary to purchase for the NSLA school lunch program and the CNA school breakfast program lowfat cheese on a bid basis in a quantity that is the milkfat equivalent of the milkfat quantity the Commodity Credit Corporation will purchase each year as a result of the elimination of the requirement that schools offer both whole and lowfat milk. (Sec. 105) Allows State agencies or local food authorities to use a determination of eligibility of a child for free or reduced price meals to demonstrate the child's eligibility for benefits under other Federal, State, or local means-tested programs. (Sec. 106) Makes Head Start participants automatically eligible for free breakfasts and lunches under CNA and NSLA. (Sec. 107) Requires SEAs to use resources provided through the CNA nutrition education and training program for training to improve the quality and acceptance of school meals under CNA and NSLA. (Sec. 108) Revises provisions for special assistance payments and reapplications for schools electing to serve all children free lunches or breakfasts. (Sec. 110) Makes reimbursement for meals, supplements, and milk under certain NSLA and CNA programs contingent on timely submission of claims and the final program operations report for the month. (Sec. 111) Establishes a program of information about means for schools to obtain organically produced agricultural products for school lunch programs. (Sec. 112) Directs the Secretary to award annual grants to a private nonprofit organization or educational institution in each of three States to create food and nutrition projects fully integrated with elementary school curricula. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 113) Revises the summer food service program for children, expanding or making it more flexible with respect to specified features. Extends the authorization of appropriations. (Sec. 114) Reauthorizes the commodity distribution program. Directs the Secretary to: (1) improve overall nutritional quality of entitlement commodities provided to schools; and (2) require that nutritional content information labels be placed on packages or shipments of such entitlement commodities or otherwise provide such information. (Sec. 115) Revises the child and adult care food program to provide for reapplication for assistance at three-year intervals. Allows administrative funds to be used for outreach and recruitment to unlicensed day care homes. Directs the Secretary to encourage States to provide information and training concerning child health and development to family or group home sponsoring organizations. Extends the period before termination of statewide demonstration projects. Provides for dissemination of information on the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children (WIC) in connection with such program. (Sec. 116) Establishes a homeless children nutrition program. Directs the Secretary to conduct projects to provide food service throughout the year to homeless children under age six in emergency shelters. Authorizes appropriations. Establishes a demonstration program for the prevention of boarder babies through provision of food and nutrition services throughout the year to homeless pregnant women, homeless mothers or guardians of infants, and children of such mothers and guardians. (Sec. 117) Establishes pilot programs, under the school breakfast and lunch programs, to increase: (1) use of fortified fluid milk, including an information program; (2) offerings of fruits, vegetables, legumes, cereals, and grain-based products; and (3) consumption of low-fat dairy products and lean meats and poultry products. (Sec. 118) Requires that specified activities be conducted with assistance for the food service management institute. Extends the authorization of appropriations. (Sec. 119) Requires the Director of the Office of Technology Assessment to report to specified congressional committees on the coordinated review system under NSLA. (Sec. 120) Adds duties of the Secretary relating to nonprocurement debarment under certain child nutrition programs, in order to deter fraud, bid rigging, and other anticompetitive activities. (Sec. 121) Directs the Secretary to establish a nutrition education promotion program to promote healthy eating habits among participants in the domestic food assistance programs of the Department of Agriculture. (Sec. 122) Directs the Secretary to enter into a contract with a nongovernmental organization for an information clearinghouse for nongovernmental groups that assist low-income individuals or communities with food assistance or self-help or other empowering activities. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 123) Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop and approve guidances for accommodating the medical and special dietary needs of children with disabilities under covered programs in a manner consistent with the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; and (2) make competitive grants to SEAs to distribute to eligible entities to help cover nonrecurring expenses incurred in accommodating such needs in such manner. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 124) Prohibits States or State or local agencies from contracting to procure, or making available, any juice or juice product for use in the school lunch or breakfast programs unless it was processed under in-plant inspection conducted by the Secretary. (Sec. 125) Directs the Secretary to issue regulations that: (1) significantly ease the administrative and paperwork burdens on participating schools and families with respect to the school lunch and breakfast programs; and (2) streamline Federal, State, and local administration of all programs established under NSLA and CNA. Title II: School Breakfast and Related Programs - Amends CNA to direct the Secretary to provide technical assistance to schools to comply with nutritional requirements under the school breakfast program. (Sec. 201) Reauthorizes, permanently, the school breakfast and summer food service startup and expansion grant program. (Sec. 202) Reauthorizes the State administrative expenses program. Allocates a portion of funds for the homeless children nutrition program under NSLA. Sets forth procedures for withholding of funds and a requirement that States participate in studies. (Sec. 203) Directs the Secretary to develop model language that bans the sale of competitive foods of minimal nutritional value anywhere on elementary school grounds before the end of the last lunch period. Requires the Secretary to provide through State agencies: (1) such model language to elementary schools; and (2) to secondary schools, copies of regulations concerning such sale. (Sec. 204) Revises and reauthorizes the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children (WIC). (Changes the word "food" to "nutrition" in such program's name.) Includes alcoholism and drug abuse under nutritional risk factors. Provides presumptive WIC eligibility for certain pregnant women. Provides for coordination of WIC and Medicaid programs using managed care providers. Gives priority consideration to certain migrant populations. Allows State agencies to implement WIC and Medicaid income eligibility guidelines concurrently. Allows recovered funds to be used in the year collected. Extends the authorization of appropriations for the WIC program. Allows use of funds for technical assistance and research evaluation projects. Provides for funding WIC breastfeeding promotion and support activities according to a specified formula. Requires development of standards for collection of breastfeeding data among program participants. Requires submission of information to the Congress on waivers with respect to procurement of infant formula to be on a timely basis, rather than at six-month intervals. Sets forth cost containment provisions. Repeals the termination of authority under the WIC Infant Formula Procurement Act of 1992. Provides that a State will not incur interest liability to the Federal Government on rebate funds for infant formula and other foods if all such interest is used for program purposes. Directs the Secretary to use a portion of certain funds, which are unspent for nutrition services and administration, for program infrastructure development, special State projects to improve program services, and special breastfeeding support and promotion projects. Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish and carry out an initiative to provide WIC program services at community and migrant health centers. Revises the WIC farmers' market nutrition program. Authorizes the Secretary to negotiate lower matching funds with Indian State agencies. Revises the formula for administrative expenses. Allows a portion of funds to be used for market development or technical assistance in areas where WIC program participants have limited access to locally grown fruits and vegetables. Revises provisions for notification of awards, minimum amount of grants (increased), plan submission, maintenance of effort, allocation of additional funds, and data collection. Extends the authorization of appropriations. Eliminates reallocation of unexpended funds of demonstration projects. Directs the Secretary to promote use of farmers' markets by recipients of Federal nutrition programs. (Sec. 205) Revises and reauthorizes the nutrition education and training program. Adds to authorized uses of program funds. Extends the authorization of appropriations for such program. Allows States two years in which to obligate each fiscal year's funds. Title III: Other Related Provisions - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to include geographically defined areas within the boundaries of former reservations in Oklahoma under the term Indian reservation, for commodity distribution purposes. Title IV: Effective Dates - Sets forth effective dates.