NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A8587
SPONSOR: Lupardo TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend chapter 537 of the laws of 1976, relating to paid, free
and reduced price breakfast for eligible pupils in certain school
districts, in relation to the amount of state subsidies for school
lunches
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The purpose of this legislation is to encourage school districts to
continue to participate in the successful Farm to School Program (30%
NYS Incentive) while also participating in the Community Eligibility
Provision (CEP) by removing disincentives which were unintendedly
created when the CEP was implemented in the 2023 budget.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Section 22-b of part A of chapter 56 of the laws of 2022 is
amended. Section 2: Effective Date
JUSTIFICATION:
The Farm to School Program, commonly referred to as the 30% NYS Incen-
tive, created in 2018 provides additional funding, up to twenty-five
cents per lunch, to school districts that spend 30% of their food budget
on qualified, NYS-grown products. The program has been successful in
providing students with locally produced nutritional foods while also
supporting the State's farming community.
Last year, the State took the first step toward instituting universal
free school meals by creating the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP)
state subsidy. The creation of CEP program, unfortunately, has resulted
in a disincentive for school districts to participate in the Farm to
School program.
According to a recent study by American Farmland Trust entitled The 30%
NYS Initiative: Designing Opportunities for Access, Equity and Economic
Impact in NY's Farm to School Incentive Program: "Unfortunately, this
new program conflicts with the existing 30% NYS Initiative, resulting in
specific CEP- participati g schools receiving up to 58% less in Initi-
ative reimbursement. This affects at least 70% of the SFA's (School Food
Authority) that were approved for additional initiative reimbursement in
2023-24 that have a total student enrollment of over 60,000." The report
concludes the conflict will only grow if the State adopts a universal
meals policy. A simple change in the law from "shall not exceed 25
cents" to "an additional 25 cents" will allow both programs to fulfill
their missions.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
This is new legislation.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8587
IN ASSEMBLY
January 12, 2024
___________
Introduced by M. of A. LUPARDO -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Education
AN ACT to amend chapter 537 of the laws of 1976, relating to paid, free
and reduced price breakfast for eligible pupils in certain school
districts, in relation to the amount of state subsidies for school
lunches
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision b of section 5 of chapter 537 of the laws of
2 1976, relating to paid, free and reduced price breakfast for eligible
3 pupils in certain school districts, as amended by section 22-b of part A
4 of chapter 56 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows:
5 b. Notwithstanding any monetary limitations with respect to school
6 lunch programs contained in any law or regulation, for school lunch
7 meals served in the school year commencing July 1, 2022 and each July 1
8 thereafter, a school food authority shall be eligible for a lunch meal
9 State subsidy of an additional twenty-five cents, which shall include
10 any annual State subsidy received by such school food authority under
11 any other provision of State law, for any school lunch meal served by
12 such school food authority; provided that the school food authority
13 certifies to the Department of Agriculture and Markets through the
14 application submitted pursuant to subdivision c of this section that
15 such food authority has purchased at least thirty percent of its total
16 cost of food products for its school lunch service program from New York
17 state farmers, growers, producers or processors in the preceding school
18 year.
19 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13892-01-3
