During Farm-to-School Month, State Agriculture Commissioner Annou...

State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball today announced that 12 organizations have been awarded over $1.6 million through Round 10 of New York’s Farm-to-School program. Funding provided through this program helps schools connect with local food systems, increase the use of locally grown food on school menus, and improve student health, while providing increased economic benefits to New York’s farmers. The Farm-to-School program is one component of Governor Kathy Hochul’s plan to increase the resilience and capacity of New York’s food system and strengthen the agricultural industry by creating additional demand for New York-grown agricultural products.

Commissioner Ball said, “Children spend most of their day in school, so it’s important that they have access to high-quality, fresh, healthy meals that keep them fueled and ready to learn. New York State is home to some of the best farmers who can provide our schools with these healthy and nutritious meals. The projects awarded today will help bring locally grown and produced food into our schools, further strengthening the connection between our future generation and the farmers who help nourish our communities.”

Now in its 10^th round, New York's Farm-to-School program helps Kindergarten through Grade 12 schools to increase the volume and variety of locally grown and produced food on school menus, which provides an important boost to the agricultural economy and brings additional business to New York farmers. The program aims to increase schools’ purchase of New York farm products by building relationships between schools and New York farm product suppliers; increase agricultural education opportunities for students; improve nutrition; and expose students to new, local, culinary experiences.

A complete list of projects awarded through Round 10 is below.

Capital Region

Berne-Knox-Westerlo Central School District: $107,200 to support the procurement and installation of essential kitchen equipment, staff training in the preparation of fresh, minimally processed foods, and expanded purchasing of New York State farm products. The district will prioritize seasonal menu planning and strengthen partnerships with regional farmers, food hubs, and distributors to increase access to locally sourced foods.
Comfort Food Community of Washington County, Inc.: $150,000 for a project focusing on streamlining procurement, supporting educational efforts, promoting the NY 30% local sourcing goal, and expanding opportunities for local farmers and producers with partnered school districts. Removing sourcing barriers, providing a marketplace for local foods, expanding program capacity, and fostering strong partnerships will enhance access to fresh, seasonal foods in schools while supporting local agricultural communities.
Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) Saratoga County: $150,000 to provide participating school districts with equipment they need to process more whole foods from NY state producers, arrange food service staff with training on how to prepare locally sourced products, deliver agricultural educational materials to students, and coordinate with local growers on school food menu needs.
CCE Oneida County: $149,843 to increase the volume and variety of local farm and food products served by partnered school food programs by assessing district menus, purchasing records, and current NYS food use to establish a baseline, identify feasible one-to-one NYS product replacements, and expand local foods on school menus through practical procurement support. The project will also support student exposure to NYS foods, agriculture, and nutrition through food demonstrations, tastings, and related educational activities that build familiarity with new local foods and support their successful introduction on school menus.

Central NY

Broome BOCES: $150,000 to increase the volume and variety of NYS farm products procured for school meals by increasing micro-purchases with nearby farms, while expanding relationships with distributors that carry NY products from other regions of the state. Grant funds will support scratch cooking and seasonal ingredient preparation training for school food staff, and the provision of nutrition and agriculture education to 8,000 students annually.
Chef Anne Foundation: $149,884 to increase the diversity of New York State farm products on school food menus by strengthening partnered school districts' scratch-cooking capacity, directly shifting at least one recipe from heat-and-serve to scratch-cooked. Training staff and implementing scratch-cooking systems will allow for increased local food procurement by partner schools.

Hudson Valley

Town of Montgomery: $125,732 to install high-volume produce preparation equipment across all schools to enable efficient processing of fresh NYS products. Cafeteria service areas will be enhanced with kiosks and refrigeration and display units to increase visibility and selection of NYS products during school food service.
Putnam-North Westchester BOCES: $149,999 to expand vendor partnerships for sourcing more NYS farm and food products for constituent school food programs, infrastructure investment in large-scale oven and skillet equipment for increased scratch cooking with local ingredients, and educational programming for students.

Mid-Hudson

Kingston School District: $149,008 to build district capacity to increase local procurement through the purchase of refrigeration and freezer equipment dedicated to the storage of local farm and food products. District staff will work with local growers’ association to identify new farm products for purchase and incorporation into school meals, and will establish relationships with farmers to source these products. The project will also support agricultural education activities such as the implementation of school food gardens and farm field trips.

Mohawk Valley

Johnstown School District School: $102,569 to support the work of a Farm-to-School coordinator and Farm-to-School cook dedicated to sourcing, procuring, storing, preparing and serving fresh foods and vegetables from local farms. As part of the project, the district will purchase and install a refrigeration unit at the central kitchen to support school meals, enabling the safe storage and distribution of significantly larger quantities of fresh produce. The district will purchase two steam ovens to properly prepare fresh foods at their optimum nutritional value.

North Country

CCE St. Lawrence County: $115,634 to implement a web-based communications and ordering system for partnered school food service directors, research and develop minimally-processed product lines, expand procurement, and expand Farm-to-School educational outreach and agricultural awareness activities in schools.

Southern Tier

Delaware-Chenango-Madison-Otsego BOCES: $124,360 to increase the volume and variety of local farm products procured for school meals across partnered school districts through a coordinated approach of farm partnerships, menu planning, staff training, and student engagement and education to build demand. District-level school nutrition staff will collaborate to build farm-to-school menus and support recipe development that drives increased local procurement, and culinary training for school nutrition staff will create a framework of support and skills to facilitate increased volume and variety of farm products in school meals.

With over 700 school districts in New York State, there are significant benefits of Farm-to-School programs across the State, including teaching children about New York agriculture; improving student health and well-being; strengthening the local agricultural economy; and building healthy communities. Additionally, the program helps schools and farms address the challenges associated with procuring, storing, and serving local food, such as a lack of equipment to store and prepare fresh, minimally processed foods; a lack of access to farms that sell directly to schools and finding distributors that carry New York products; and more.

Since the launch of the Farm-to-School program in 2015, $10.5 million has been awarded to over 130 projects, benefiting school districts in every region across the state.

Assemblymember Donna Lupardo said, “Since 2015, NY’s Farm-to-School grant program has helped K-12 schools purchase from local farms and producers, improving student nutrition and increasing agricultural awareness. It’s also strengthened regional food systems by purchasing more from NY farmers. I’m delighted to learn that Broome-Tioga BOCES will be receiving $150K this year to increase micro-purchases from local farms while broadening connections with other regions of the state.”

State Senator Michelle Hinchey said, "The Farm-to-School program is one of the best ways New York State can connect students to the healthy, locally grown food they deserve, and create new economic development opportunities for our local farmers. As a longtime champion of this program, I am delighted to see grants going to schools starting new programs and expand existing ones across the state. I want to give a special congratulations to the Kingston City School District for their award, and I look forward to seeing more schools put this program to work for our students and farmers."

Annie Hudock, Senior Food Service Director, Broome Tioga BOCES, said,

Farm-to-School is about more than putting locally grown food on a student’s tray. It’s about building lasting connections between our students, school nutrition professionals, and New York State farmers. Through this funding, Broome Tioga BOCES, in partnership with Rural Health Network of South Central New York and Cornell Cooperative Extension of Broome County, can continue strengthening those relationships, expanding hands on agricultural education, and equipping our school nutrition teams with the culinary skills needed to bring more locally grown foods into our cafeterias. We are proud to continue building a program that supports our students, our farmers, and the communities we serve.

Mary Beth McEwen, Executive Director, CCE Onieda County, said, “Cornell Cooperative Extension of Oneida County is thrilled and appreciative to have been awarded a Farm-to-School grant through NYS Agriculture and Markets. This funding will give us the opportunity to work with schools to increase the amount of fresh, healthy, and local food that is served to students, which will help them to build positive lifelong health and nutritional habits. At the same time, this funding will help to support local farmers by creating a new market base which allows them to diversify and increase their revenue, building a stronger and more vibrant community for all! We want to thank NYS Agriculture and Markets and are looking forward to getting this project underway!”

This investment builds on Governor Hochul’s efforts to support New York farmers and producers and connect them to new markets through programs, ensuring that New York remains New York’s first and best customer. In addition to the Farm-to-School program, the New York State 30% Initiative increases the reimbursement schools receive for lunches from 5.9 cents per meal to 25 cents per meal for any district that ensures their school lunches are made up of at least 30 percent eligible New York produced and processed products. Additionally, the state’s Regional School Food Infrastructurerecently awarded $10 million to projects in New York City and the Mid-Hudson Region to improve meal preparation and distribution for kindergarten through Grade 12 students. First announced in the Governor’s 2023 State of the State, the program is providing $50 million over five years to eligible applicants in all ten regions of New York State to facilitate the on-site processing and preparation of fresh, nutritious meals, increase the use of more healthy, local New York food products, and provide a boost to New York farmers.

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