As a result of increasing their “made-in-New York” food use
to 30% of all food purchases, the schools are now eligible to receive an
additional 19 cents per meal in state reimbursement for every lunch served.This is the first year the additional reimbursement is
available under legislation supported by the governor and state Legislature.
Schools are able to receive the extra funds if at least 30% of the food
purchased for lunch is from local sources. Reaching the 30% threshold will
bring an additional $580,000 in state funds to area schools, allowing them to
reinvest that money in even more purchases of local foods.
This past school year, all 15 school districts within Broome
Tioga BOCES sourced more NY grown, raised and/or processed foods than ever
before for their school lunch programs. When all was said and done, the
districts purchased a combined total of 1.5 million dollars of NY foods.
The increase was made possible in part thanks to a program
BOCES implemented in all 15 districts called NY Thursday. On one Thursday a
month, everything served at lunch is either grown, raised or processed in NY.
Menus often feature new, seasonal recipes to highlight the local products
available throughout the year. NY Thursday’s have quickly become a favorite of
students, parents, teachers and administrators.
“We could not have done this without the support of our school boards,
administrators, elected officials that represent us in Albany and our community
partners,” said Mark Bordeau, BOCES’ senior director of food services.
Over the last three years, BOCES and it’s partners, the Rural
Health Network of South Central NY and Cornell Cooperative Extension, have secured
over $300,000 in grant funding through the New York State Department of Agriculture
& Markets to expand the Farm to School program. The grant money has been
used to purchase equipment, plant gardens, provide educational programs, and
hire a Farm to School coordinator.
“I’m thrilled that our
local BOCES has reached this important goal. It sends a very important message
to our students and to the community; that we value healthy, locally sources
food and the farmers who grew it,” said Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo (D-Broome),
chair of the assembly
committee on agriculture.
Bordeau said the success of the program and subsequent increase in state
funding has truly been a community effort.
“I am proud that we are able to support local farms and
businesses like Cascun Farms, Catskill Cattle, Headwater Food Hub, Russell
Farms, Fantasy Fruit Farm & Lupo’s,” Bordeau said. “I do not think you
could find another piece of legislation that positively impacts the health of
our students, farms, local economy and the environment.”
Erin Summerlee, director of the Food and Health Network
Program at Rural Health Network, said, “We are thrilled to have worked with the
innovative leaders at Broome Tioga BOCES, our community partners, and local
farms to reach this tremendous achievement. Farm to School and the NY Thursday
program are perfect examples of the impact of institutions buying local, from
increasing access to healthy food for students and shaping lifelong habits, to
driving significant economic development in the region.”
Victoria Giarratano, executive director of
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Broome County, said, “We see great value in
the partnership with BOCES in the Farm 2 School initiative. Through this
partnership our nutrition and Ag in the Classroom educators make the connection
in the classroom by providing hands-on educational lessons that empathize to
students the importance of eating local, how that impacts our farmers and their
own health”
Since the NY Thursday has been such a success,
BOCES plans to expand the program to twice a month in 2020.