1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Salad Bars in Schools Expansion Act . 2. Findings Congress finds the following: (1) In the United States, one-third of all school-aged children are overweight or obese and very few eat the daily amount of fruits and vegetables recommended by national health authorities. (2) On average, more than 30 million children participate in the National School Lunch Program daily, with more than 70 percent qualifying for free or reduced-price meals based on family household income. (3) Improving the healthfulness of school meals, including serving more fruits and vegetables, will improve children’s eating habits and their health. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that children make half their plate fruits and vegetables at each meal. (4) Research indicates that school salad bars are an effective strategy to increase children’s consumption of a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. (5) Salad bars are one of the easiest ways for school food authorities to meet the new school lunch nutrition standards that require serving a fruit and a vegetable every day, a colorful variety of vegetables every week, and that students select at least one-half cup of a fruit or a vegetable at lunch. (6) Salad bars are effective in elementary, middle, and high school, they empower students to try new fruits and vegetables and are a tangible example of a school’s commitment to wellness and healthier school meals. 3. Expansion of salad bars Section 18 of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1769 ) is amended by adding at the end the following: (l) Expansion of salad bars (1) Marketing and communications plan Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of the Salad Bars in Schools Expansion Act , the Secretary shall establish and implement a plan to promote the use of salad bars in schools participating in the school lunch program established under this Act. (2) Training and technical assistance In carrying out the plan described in paragraph (1), the