What's happening
This bill allows New York schools to count purchases for breakfast and snack programs toward the 30% local food requirement for state lunch subsidies.
Why it matters
Expanding local food incentives to breakfast and snacks. means schools can now count spending on New York-grown foods for breakfast and snack programs toward the 30% local food threshold previously limited to lunch, potentially increasing overall demand for local agriculture.
Broader eligibility for state subsidies. could make it easier for school districts to qualify for higher state reimbursement rates, by pooling local food purchases across breakfast, lunch, and snacks instead of only lunch, thus making the local food requirement more attainable.
Administrative changes for documentation. will require schools to track and report local food purchases for all three meal periods (breakfast, snack, and lunch), which could incentivize more comprehensive local procurement strategies and strengthen reporting accountability.
Potential impact on student nutrition and local economies. By incentivizing schools to buy more local food for all meals and snacks, the bill could improve student access to fresher, healthier foods while supporting in-state farmers, producers, and processors.
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Who cares
School food authorities
The bill would let them count purchases of New York food for breakfast and snack programs toward the 30 percent purchasing requirement for additional state lunch subsidies beginning July 1, 2025.
New York farmers, growers, producers and processors
Their food products purchased for school breakfast and snack programs would become eligible to count toward schools’ subsidy qualification.
Department of Agriculture and Markets and State Education Department
The subsidy application they develop would need to include breakfast and snack purchases in its documentation requirements.
School food authorities’ chief operating officers
Their required attestations would expand to cover eligible New York food purchases for breakfast, snack and lunch programs.
Headline styles
Count Breakfasts Toward Farm Subsidy
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
35 Co-sponsors
- Marianne Buttenschon
- Donna Lupardo
- Chantel Jackson
- Billy Jones
- Linda Rosenthal
- Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas
- Albert A. Stirpe
- William Magnarelli
- Carrie Woerner
- Harry B. Bronson
- Sarah Clark
- Scott H. Bendett
- Joe Angelino
- Didi Barrett
- Philip Ramos
- Brian Manktelow
- Brian D. Miller
- Anna Kelles
- Sam Berger
- Matthew Slater
- Alex Bores
- Brian Cunningham
- Khaleel Anderson
- Karines Reyes
- Joe DeStefano
- Jodi Giglio
- Paula Bologna
- Anil Beephan Jr.
- Joseph Sempolinski
- Aron Wieder
- Tony Simone
- Judy Griffin
- Emily Gallagher
- Catalina Cruz
- Dana Levenberg
History
- Referred to education
- Print number 839a
- Amend and recommit to education
- Referred to education
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Count Breakfast for Farm Subsidies
In Senate Committee · Education · Sponsor Michelle Hinchey
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
839--A
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
Introduced by M. of A. McMAHON, BUTTENSCHON, LUPARDO, JACKSON, JONES, ROSENTHAL, GONZALEZ-ROJAS, STIRPE, MAGNARELLI, WOERNER, BRONSON, CLARK, BENDETT, ANGELINO, BARRETT, RAMOS, MANKTELOW, MILLER, KELLES, BERGER, SLATER, BORES, CUNNINGHAM, ANDERSON, REYES, DeSTEFANO, GIGLIO -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
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 purchases of food products from New York state farmers, growers, producers or processors
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivisions b and c of section 5 of chapter 537 of the laws of 1976, relating to paid, free and reduced price breakfast for eligible pupils in certain school districts, subdivision b as amended by section 32-a of part A of chapter 56 of the laws of 2024 and subdivision c as amended by section 22-b of part A of chapter 56 of the laws of 2022, are amended to read as follows:
b. Notwithstanding any monetary limitations with respect to school lunch programs contained in any law or regulation, for school lunch meals served in the school year commencing July 1, 2022 and each July 1 thereafter, a school food authority shall be eligible for a State subsidy equal to $0.1901 per free and paid school lunch meal, and $0.0519 per reduced-price lunch meal, for any school lunch meal served by such school food authority; provided that the school food authority certifies to the Department of Agriculture and Markets through the application submitted pursuant to subdivision c of this section that such food authority has purchased at least thirty percent of its total cost of food products for its school lunch service program from New York state
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00594-05-5
farmers, growers, producers or processors in the preceding school year. Commencing July 1, 2025, and each July 1 thereafter, a school food authority shall be allowed to attribute moneys spent on purchases of food products from New York state farmers, growers, producers or processors made for its school breakfast or snack programs to the thirty percent of costs for school breakfast and lunch service programs.
c. The Department of Agriculture and Markets in cooperation with the State Education Department, shall develop an application for school food authorities to seek an additional State subsidy pursuant to this section in a timeline and format prescribed by the commissioner of agriculture and markets. Such application shall include, but not be limited to, documentation demonstrating the school food authority's total food purchases for its school breakfast, snack, and lunch service program, and documentation demonstrating its total food purchases and percentages for such program, permitted to be counted under this section, from New York State farmers, growers, producers or processors in the preceding school year. The application shall also include an attestation from the school food authority's chief operating officer that it purchased at least thirty percent of its total cost of food products, permitted to be counted under this section, for its school breakfast, snack, and lunch service program from New York State farmers, growers, producers or processors in the preceding school year in order to meet the requirements for this additional State subsidy. School food authorities shall be required to annually apply for this subsidy. After reviewing school food authorities' completed applications for an additional State subsidy pursuant to this section, the Department of Agriculture and Markets shall certify to the State Education Department the school food authorities approved for such additional State subsidy and the State Education Department shall pay such additional State subsidy to such school food authorities.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.