1 of 1
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3322 FILED ON: 1/17/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 539
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Michael S. Day
_________________
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act relative to healthy school lunches.
_______________
PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Michael S. Day31st Middlesex1/17/2025Natalie M. Blais1st Franklin2/24/2025 1 of 3
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3322 FILED ON: 1/17/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 539
By Representative Day of Stoneham, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 539) of
Michael S. Day and Natalie M. Blais relative to nutrition in public schools. Education.
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 451 OF 2023-2024.]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)
_______________
An Act relative to healthy school lunches.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Chapter 6 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is
2hereby amended by inserting after section 15ZZZZZZ, the following section:-
3 Section 15AAAAAAA.The governor shall annually issue a proclamation setting apart
4March 21 as Massachusetts Child Nutrition Day and recommending that the day be observed in
5an appropriate manner by the people.
6 SECTION 2. Chapter 71 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting, after
7section 99, the following new section:-
8 Section 100. (a) The purpose of this section is to ensure that the students of the
9Commonwealth are appropriately nourished in order to support a healthier, livable and more
10equitable future for all. 2 of 3
11 (b) For the purposes of this section, the following words shall have the following
12meanings:-
13 (i)food service management company is defined as a commercial enterprise or a
14nonprofit organization which is or may be contracted with by the school food authority to
15manage any aspect of the school food service
16 (ii)entrée is defined as the meat/meat alternate category within the USDA’s Federal
17Nutrition Standards
18 (iii)Fiber-rich” is defined as an entrée item that contains at least 14 g of fiber per
191000kcal from whole food sources such as whole grains, legumes, beans, pulses, fruits, and
20vegetables
21 (iv)“Reimbursable meal” is any meal that meets the United States Department of
22Agriculture (USDA) National School Lunch Program nutritional requirements for federal
23reimbursement at the annual allotted rate of any of the following: (a) free lunch; (b) reduced-
24price lunch; or (c) paid lunch
25 (v) “ultra-processed food” is defined as industrial formulations of food substances
26never or rarely used in kitchens (such as high-fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated or interesterified
27oils, and hydrolysed proteins), or classes of additives designed to make the final product
28palatable, appealing, or preservable (such as flavours, flavour enhancers, colours, emulsifiers,
29emulsifying salts, sweeteners, thickeners, nitrates, nitrites, preservatives, and anti-foaming,
30bulking, carbonating, foaming, gelling and glazing agents) 3 of 3
31 (c) Any food service management company selling food to Massachusetts public schools
32for our children to consume shall ensure that at least 50% of the entrées sold and served for lunch
33within school hours in schools, school districts, or other entities over the course of each week are
34healthy foods containing whole grains, vegetables, fruits, legumes and other fiber-rich proteins
35as part of a reimbursable meal offering within the federal National School Lunch Program.
36 (d) No food service provider may sell or serve in Massachusetts public schools, school
37districts, or other entities more than 20% of entrée items that meet one or more of the following:
38qualify as ultra-processed; have a nutritional composition that includes more than 30 milligrams
39of cholesterol more than 5% of the entrées’ total calories come from saturated fat as part of a
40weekly reimbursable meal offering within the federal National School Lunch
41 (e) Each food service provider selling food to Massachusetts public schools for school
42children to consume, shall keep itemized nutrition data that is made publicly available on a
43monthly basis to demonstrate compliance with this statute.
44 (f) Each food service management company will have a phase in period of three years
45following the initial date of their most recent contract with their respective school food authority
46or by the first day of the school calendar year 2033-2034, whichever comes first.