The state Assembly voted 140-1 to pass legislation (A6182) that will allow school districts to now purchase products from associations of growers as long as they are for purchases of under $25,000 without needing the approval of the commissioner of education. The bill has also been passed by the New York State Senate and has been sent to the governor for his review.
Assemblywoman Russell said the legislation stemmed from a request from St. Lawrence County farmers, who were finding it challenging to sell their products to local school districts due to the bureaucratic hurdles that needed to be crossed.
"This bill is aimed at cutting through the red tape and getting local food products into our school cafeterias. It encourages schools to purchase local food products," Assemblywoman Russell said.
The current law requires school districts to apply for permission from the commissioner of education to purchase food such as eggs, livestock, fish, or dairy products from separate growers and producers if there are more than 10 growers or producers in the association.
This application process can be burdensome to smaller school districts and contradicts current food hub programming by discouraging purchases from cooperatives or food hubs. Current law makes purchasing locally difficult and fails to promote the current farm-to-school program.
"It helps local farmers and producers, and it also brings fresher and healthier foods to our students in their school cafeterias," she added. "This bill fosters the development of our smaller farms by allowing these collaborating family farm operations to sell to local school districts by making the process clearer and more efficient."
Assemblywoman Russell, chair of the Assembly Task Force on Food, Farm and Nutrition Policy, is a leader in the farm-to-school initiative in the state legislature.
This year’s state budget includes funding for a pilot program in the North Country that will provide local school districts with funding so they can provide fresh, local food grown and raised by New York State farmers and producers.
The pilot program will provide increased reimbursements for North Country schools that purchase food from New York farmers.
The budget allocates $300,000 to the Adirondack North Country Association to oversee the farm to school program specifically targeting schools in the North Country to help purchase food from regional farmers.
"ANCA has sent out letters to school districts in the St. Lawrence and Jefferson BOCES regions seeking schools that are interested in being on the ground floor of this effort," Assemblywoman Russell said.
"Our aim is to start small with a few school districts and have positive results so we can grow additional support for expanding funding for this valuable program in next year's budget," she added.
The assemblywoman’s farm-to-school pilot program is part of her larger “Drive for 25” initiative, which is also supported by the New York School Nutrition Association. That initiative would provide increased state funding of up to 25 cents more per lunch for schools that meet set goals for expanded usage of local food products.
That initiative would modify the state’s reimbursement formula for school lunches, by increasing reimbursement rates by 5 to 25 cents a meal from the current 6 cents.
While some school districts across the state have been able to offer local food to their students, the reimbursement rate has not changed in 40 years, meaning cash-strapped districts, including many in the North Country, are not be able to more fully utilize regional farms as a source for their food supplies.
"It helps local farmers and producers, and it also brings fresher and healthier foods to our students in their school cafeterias," she added. "This bill fosters the development of our smaller farms by allowing these collaborating family farm operations to sell to local school districts by making the process clearer and more efficient."
Assemblywoman Russell, chair of the Assembly Task Force on Food, Farm and Nutrition Policy, is a leader in the farm-to-school initiative in the state legislature.
This year’s state budget includes funding for a pilot program in the North Country that will provide local school districts with funding so they can provide fresh, local food grown and raised by New York State farmers and producers.
The pilot program will provide increased reimbursements for North Country schools that purchase food from New York farmers.
The budget allocates $300,000 to the Adirondack North Country Association to oversee the farm to school program specifically targeting schools in the North Country to help purchase food from regional farmers.
"ANCA has sent out letters to school districts in the St. Lawrence and Jefferson BOCES regions seeking schools that are interested in being on the ground floor of this effort," Assemblywoman Russell said.
"Our aim is to start small with a few school districts and have positive results so we can grow additional support for expanding funding for this valuable program in next year's budget," she added.
The assemblywoman’s farm-to-school pilot program is part of her larger “Drive for 25” initiative, which is also supported by the New York School Nutrition Association. That initiative would provide increased state funding of up to 25 cents more per lunch for schools that meet set goals for expanded usage of local food products.
That initiative would modify the state’s reimbursement formula for school lunches, by increasing reimbursement rates by 5 to 25 cents a meal from the current 6 cents.
While some school districts across the state have been able to offer local food to their students, the reimbursement rate has not changed in 40 years, meaning cash-strapped districts, including many in the North Country, are not be able to more fully utilize regional farms as a source for their food supplies.