Establishes a farm-to-school food service reimbursement program for school districts which have purchased at least thirty percent of their total food products, including both dairy and non-dairy products, for their food service programs from New York state farmers, growers, producers or processors, based upon the number of federally reimbursable meals served to students under such program agreements entered into by the commissioner and such districts.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A9653
SPONSOR: Woerner
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the education law, in relation to establishing a farm-
to-school food service reimbursement program
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The purpose of this bill is to simplify and conform how individual
school districts and New York state calculate the thirty percent thresh-
old needed for food purchases from New York state farmers, growers,
producers or processors to qualify individual school districts for an
additional twenty-five cents of reimbursement per school lunch meal in
excess of current federal and state reimbursement rates.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: adds subdivision 18 to section 3641 of the education law to
direct the commissioner to provide enhanced reimbursement to districts
with school lunch programs that purchase at least thirty percent of
their total food products for their school food service programs from
NYS farmers, growers, producers and processors. Section 2: establishes
the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
New York State provides enhanced reimbursement to school districts that
purchase at least thirty percent of their total food products for their
school lunch service program from NYS farmers, growers, producers and
processors. Nonetheless, most school districts do not track their food
purchases for a specific mealtime. Instead, districts purchase bulk
food products to be utilized throughout each of the meals they provide
at different times, including breakfast, lunch, and afterschool snacks.
This contrast between how NYS 'determines eligibility for enhanced lunch
reimbursement (based solely on food provided at lunch), and how schools
actually serve their food purchases (throughout the day at different
mealtimes), creates a significant administrative barrier to partic-
ipation in the farm to school enhanced reimbursement program. In fact,
under the current program, only 7% of school food authorities - an aver-
age of about 50 schools per year - reach the thirty percent threshold
based solely on school lunch purchases. This bill simplifies the calcU-
lation of thirty percent by permitting school districts to attribute the
full amount of their purchases from NYS farmers, growers, producers and
processors to the full amount of their overall food purchases to qualify
for enhanced school lunch service reimbursement.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
TBD
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9653
IN ASSEMBLY
March 27, 2024
___________
Introduced by M. of A. WOERNER -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to establishing a farm-
to-school food service reimbursement program
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 3641 of the education law is amended by adding a
2 new subdivision 18 to read as follows:
3 18. Farm-to-school food service reimbursement program. For the two
4 thousand twenty-four--two thousand twenty-five school year and thereaft-
5 er, the commissioner shall reimburse districts with school food service
6 programs an additional twenty-five cents per school lunch meal in excess
7 of federal and state rates of reimbursement, provided that such
8 districts have purchased at least thirty percent of their total food
9 products, including both dairy and non-dairy products, for their food
10 service programs from New York state farmers, growers, producers or
11 processors, based upon the number of federally reimbursable meals served
12 to students under such program agreements entered into by the commis-
13 sioner and such districts.
14 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14950-02-4