SECTION 1. Chapter 6 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 15IIIIII,
inserted by chapter 86 of the acts of 2001, the following section:-
Section 15JJJJJJ.The governor shall annually issue a proclamation setting apart March 21 as
Massachusetts Child Nutrition Day and recommending that the day be observed in an
appropriate manner by the people.
SECTION 2. Chapter 71 is hereby amended by inserting, after section x, the following new
section:-
Section 98. (a) The purpose of this section is to ensure that the students of the Commonwealth
are appropriately nourished in order to support a healthier, livable and more equitable future
for all.
(b) For the purposes of this section, the following words shall have the following meanings:-
(i) “entrée” is defined as the meat or meat alternate category within the USDA’s Federal Nutrition Standards
(ii) “Fiber-rich” is defined as a meal item that contains at least 20% of the
minimum daily grams of fiber for youth ages 2-18 as determined by the
National Institute of Health’s Daily Reference Intakes (DRI).
(iii) “Reimbursable meal” is any meal that meets the United States Department
of Agriculture (USDA) National School Lunch Program nutritional
requirements for federal reimbursement at the annual allotted rate of any of
the following: (a) free lunch; (b) reduced-price lunch; or (c) paid lunch
(iv) “ultra-processed food” is defined as industrial formulations of food
substances never or rarely used in kitchens (such as high-fructose corn syrup,
hydrogenated or interesterified oils, and hydrolysed proteins), or classes of
additives designed to make the final product palatable, appealing, or
preservable (such as flavours, flavour enhancers, colours, emulsifiers,
emulsifying salts, sweeteners, thickeners, nitrates, nitrites, preservatives, and
anti-foaming, bulking, carbonating, foaming, gelling and glazing agents)
(c) Any food service provider selling food to Massachusetts public schools for our children
to consume shall ensure that at least 50% of the entrées sold and served for lunch
within school hours in schools, school districts, or other entities over the course of each
week are healthy foods containing whole grains, vegetables, fruits, legumes, and other
fiber-rich proteins as part of a reimbursable meal offering within the federal National
School Lunch Program.
(d) No food service provider may sell or serve in Massachusetts public schools, school
districts, or other entities more than 20% of entrée items that are ultra-processed or
have a nutritional composition that includes more than 30 milligrams of cholesterol or
more than 5% of the entrées’ total calories from saturated fat as part of a reimbursable
meal offering within the federal National School Lunch
(e) Each food service provider selling food to Massachusetts public schools for school
children to consume, shall keep itemized nutrition data that is made publicly available
on a monthly basis to demonstrate compliance with this statute.
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