Authorizes the commissioner of education, in cooperation with the commissioner of agriculture and markets, to establish voluntary guidelines to provide for the donation of excess, unused, edible food from school, university or other educational institutions' meal programs to voluntary food assistance programs.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A2409B
SPONSOR: Ortiz (MS) TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the agriculture and markets law and the education law,
in relation to authorizing school districts and institutions of higher
education to donate excess food to local voluntary food assistance
programs
PURPOSE OF BILL:
To help encourage the establishment of voluntary programs to assist and
facilitate the ability of schools districts and institutions of higher
learning to donate excess unused food items from their school meal
programs to voluntary food assistance programs, such as food pantries,
soup kitchens, and other community and not-for-profit organizations that
distribute food to the poor and disadvantaged.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Amends Agriculture and Markets Law section 16 to authorize
the Commissioner of Agriculture and Markets to cooperate with the
Commissioner of Education in developing guidelines for a voluntary
program to coordinate the donation of excess, unused, edible food
derived from school meal programs to voluntary food assistance programs
for the poor and disadvantaged, including community food pantries, soup
kitchens, and other community or not-for-profit organizations that
distribute food.
Section 2: Adds a new Education Law section 305 (32) to authorize, but
not mandate that, the Commissioner of Education to develop, at its own
initiative, voluntary guidelines to encourage and facilitate the ability
of school districts and institutions of higher learning to donate
excess, unused, edible food items from meals served at such facilities
to local voluntary food assistance programs. To minimize any potential
mandates on school districts, institutions of higher learning, and to
the Department of Education, all that is being asked to be done is to
help to establish, at its own initiative, some form of channel of commu-
nication between such educational institutions and nearby voluntary food
assistance programs. Such programs would only be established if it is
advantageous to the institution and food pantry or other community food
group. In addition, the segregation of such surplus donated food items
could reduce the waste collection fees needed to cart such items away
from such institutions. This section also interrelates the communication
between schools and food pantries with the farm-to-school program and
the New York Harvest for New York Kids week program, which already is a
line of communication on food and nutrition between the schools and
Agriculture and Markets.
JUSTIFICATION:
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has encouraged the
creation of programs that collect food that would otherwise be discarded
and donate it to voluntary feeding programs such as food pantries and
soup kitchens. There are existing efforts to collect food leftovers from
food service operations such as grocery stores, hospitals, and restau-
rants. School meal programs are a large potential source of new donors
to supply such much needed nourishment to food pantries and other such
organizations. There is funding for food collection through the Depart-
ment of Health's Hunger Prevention Nutrition Assistance Program (HPNAP)
which provides State support for emergency food programs. Schools are
required to carefully plan menus to meet the nutritional needs of chil-
dren and minimize food waste. However, at times when there is bad
weather, high absenteeism, or other unusual circumstances there may be
significant unserved food that could be used by emergency food programs.
Nearly two million school lunches and breakfasts are served every day in
New York State. This large amount of surplus or excess food could
potentially be re-directed to those who are most in need.
This bill has benefits for the environment as well. This bill, by
encouraging efforts to minimize the wasting of food, is beneficial to
the environment in many ways. First, the growing, transporting, and
warehousing of food is a very energy intensive endeavor at all steps of
the production and distribution chain. Food production has a large
carbon "foot print". Hence, by better utilizing foods that have already
been grown, transported to the local area, and warehoused, that will cut
down on the energy consumption needed to grow additional amounts of
crops that are laid to waste and not used to provide nourishment to
individuals.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2009/10: A6453A Vetoed, Tabled
2011/12: A6330A Amended and Referred to Education
2013/14: A5218 Referred to Education
2015/16: A4833 Referred to Education
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
180 days after it shall have become law.
