Congressional Proposal Aims to Boost Local Foods in School

On July 28, Congressional Representative Antonio Delgado, representing New York’s 19th Congressional District which includes Delaware County, along with Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin, introduced the Small Farm to School Act, which, if passed, would create a pilot program to reimburse public schools at a higher rate for sourcing school lunches from small farmers under the National School Lunch Program. 

The bipartisan legislation incentivizes partnerships between small farms and local schools.

Family farms are essential to the upstate New York way of life, Delgado said, indicating the proposal is a way to show support for small businesses and farmers while helping young people access nutritious food. 

“As our small farmers continue to grapple with both a challenging farm economy and the COVID-19 pandemic, this legislation will help form new partnerships that both assist our small farmers and the health of our young people,” Delgado said in a press release.

Getting locally produced food into school settings is a great thing, said Delaware County Farm Bureau President Duane Martin. The proposal would keep money circulating in the local economy, support local jobs and provide a much needed economic boost, he said. The proposal is a “win-win” situation for the economy, young people and farmers, Martin said, praising the implementation and growth of a sustainable economic model where locally grown products - whether food, services or other products - are prioritized. 

The Small Farm to School Act would create an eight-state program to provide an increased reimbursement rate for school lunches that include a locally-grown, unprocessed food component from a small farm, providing a $0.05-per-lunch subsidy when a component of the meal is sourced from a local farm. The cost of the subsidy would be split evenly between the federal government and the participating state. The Small Farm to School Act authorizes $20 million annually for the pilot in eight states.

Delgado is a member of the House Agricultural Committee.