Code of the District of Columbia

§ 38–821.01. Definitions.

For the purposes of this chapter, the term:

(1) "Alternative breakfast serving model" means a model of serving breakfast:

(A) Such as breakfast in the classroom or breakfast on grab-and-go carts, in which breakfast is:

(i) Offered in one or more locations with high student traffic other than the cafeteria; and

(ii) Available after the start of the school day or both before and after the start of the school day; and

(B) That has been proven to increase student participation in breakfast relative to the traditional serving model, in which breakfast is served in the cafeteria before the start of the school day.

(1A) "Animal product" means meat, poultry, seafood, dairy, eggs, honey, and any derivative thereof.

(1B) "Breakfast in the classroom" means an alternative breakfast serving model where students eat breakfast in the classroom after the start of the school day.

(1C)(A) "Drinking water source" means a source of water from which a person can reasonably be expected to consume or cook with the water originating from the source.

(B) "Drinking water source" shall not include a source of water for which a public school or public charter school posts a conspicuous sign pursuant to § 38-825.01a(a)(1)(C) or (b)(2)(C); provided, that a public school or public charter school shall designate at least one kitchen sink in each school kitchen as a drinking water source.

(1D) "Formula grants process" means a process developed by OSSE to distribute grants based on the availability of funding and the needs of schools, as identified through OSSE data collection tools.

(1E) "Good Food Purchasing Program's core values" means the following 5 core values established by the Center for Good Food Purchasing for its Good Food Purchasing Program:

(A) Local economics;

(B) Nutrition;

(C) Valued workforce;

(D) Environmental sustainability; and

(E) Animal welfare.

(1F) "Health education" means instruction of the District of Columbia Health Education Standards.

(1G) “Healthy Schools Fund” means the fund established by § 38-821.02.

(2) “Healthy Youth and Schools Commission” or “Commission” means the body established by § 38-827.01.

(3) “Locally grown” means grown in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, or West Virginia.

(4) “Locally processed” means processed at a facility in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, or West Virginia.

(5) “Meals” means breakfast, lunch, or after-school snacks served as a part of the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, or Summer Food Service Program, or after-school meals served as part of the Child and Adult Care Food Program.

(6) “Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity” means movement resulting in a substantially increased heart rate and breathing.

(6A) “Participating private school” means a private school that participates in the National School Lunch Program, established by the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, approved June 4, 1946 (60 Stat. 230; 42 U.S.C. § 1771 et seq.), and elects to participate in the Healthy Schools Act program.

(6B) "Physical activity" means bodily movement, including walking, dancing, or gardening.

(6C) "Physical education" means instruction based on the District of Columbia Physical Education Standards, of which at least 50% of the time is spent in moderate to vigorous physical activity.

(6D) "Plant-based food option" means food or beverages that:

(A) Are free of animal products; and

(B) With respect to the meat or meat alternate component of a meal, provide a source recognized by the United States Department of Agriculture as a meat alternate free of animal products for the purposes of the National School Lunch Program.

(7) “Public charter school” means a school chartered under Chapter 18 of this title [§ 38-1800.01 et seq.]. The term “public charter school” shall not include private or parochial schools.

(8) “Public school” means a school operated by the District of Columbia Public Schools, established by § 38-171.

(8A) "Remediation steps" means, at a minimum, actions to:

(A) Decrease the elevated lead concentration in a drinking water source to 5 parts per billion or less; or

(B) Preclude people from consuming or cooking with water from a drinking water source.

(8B) "Self-operated school food service" means a District-run program of planning, purchasing, preparing, storing, serving, and ensuring the safety of food served to students in public schools staffed and overseen by District employees and established pursuant to § 38-822.03a.

(8C) "Share table" is a location where school community members can place unopened or sealed foods to provide for other community members to take food that would otherwise be thrown away.

(9) “Sustainable agriculture” means an integrated system of plant and animal production practices having a site-specific application that will, over the long-term:

(A) Satisfy human food and fiber needs;

(B) Enhance environmental quality and the natural resource base upon which the agricultural economy depends;

(C) Make the most efficient use of nonrenewable resources and on-farm resources and integrate, where appropriate, natural biological cycles and controls;

(D) Sustain the economic viability of farm operations; and

(E) Enhance the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole.

(10)(A) “Unprocessed” means foods that are nearest their whole, raw, and natural state, and contain no artificial flavors or colors, synthetic ingredients, chemical preservatives, or dyes.

(B) For the purposes of this paragraph, food which undergoes the following processes shall be deemed to be unprocessed:

(i) Cooling, refrigerating, or freezing;

(ii) Size adjustment through size reduction made by peeling, slicing, dicing, cutting, chopping, shucking, or grinding;

(iii) Drying or dehydration;

(iv) Washing;

(v) The application of high water pressure or “cold pasteurization”;

(vi) Packaging, such as placing eggs in cartons, and vacuum packing and bagging, such as placing vegetables in bags;

(vii) Butchering livestock, fish, or poultry; and

(viii) The pasteurization of milk.

(11) "Vegetarian food option" means food or beverages that:

(A) Are free of meat, poultry, and seafood; and

(B) With respect to the meat or meat alternate component of a meal, provide a source recognized by the United States Department of Agriculture as a meat alternate free of meat, poultry, and seafood for the purposes of the National School Lunch Program.