1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Scratch Cooked Meals for Students Act . 2. Pilot program for grants promoting scratch cooking in school meal programs Section 18 of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1769 ) is amended by inserting before subsection (b) the following new subsection: (a) Scratch cooking pilot program (1) In general (A) Establishment Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this subsection, the Secretary shall establish a pilot program to award competitive grants to school food authorities to promote scratch cooking. (B) Scratch cooking defined In this subsection, the term scratch cooking means the preparation of food using ingredients that are unprocessed or minimally processed. (2) Grant amounts and duration A grant awarded under this subsection shall be made for a period of 2 school years. (3) Eligible uses A grant awarded under this subsection shall be used by a school food authority to promote scratch cooking, which may include— (A) promoting professional development and training related to preparing, procuring, advertising, serving, and creating menus of meals made with scratch cooking; (B) purchasing cafeteria equipment or making infrastructure modifications necessary for scratch cooking; (C) employee compensation for additional food preparation necessary for scratch cooking; (D) providing technical assistance, pupil engagement, and education related to scratch cooking, such as taste tests, recipe development, and culinary education; (E) investing in software and technology systems for procurement to support scratch cooking