COMMITTEES Public Policy & Legislation
Hello NYSNA members, NYSNA 2022 Legislative Agenda BY JULIA ALOTTA NYSNA INTERN
Similar to California and Maine, our plan B consist of advocating for New York State to implement its own Universal Meals system. What does this mean for Food Service Directors? • New York State will supplement the cost of providing school meals that is not covered by the federal government, so each meal served is reimbursed at the “free rate” • Even among eligible families, students can be missed and not certified for free school meals, creating an undue burden of school meal debt for families and schools. • Statewide free meals for all eliminates school meal debt altogether, further supporting working families earning less than a living wage and providing stability for struggling school nutrition programs. However, our efforts do not stop here. We heard you all loud and clear we know you need new food service equipment. This year, almost $1.8 million was given out to school districts under a grant that is administered by The State Education Department (SED) but is on behalf of USDA. Unfortunately, that amount is nowhere near enough, and many school districts were unable to access crucial funding. We are requesting that the state government provide additional funding of $5 million to ensure that all school districts can update their equipment. Coupled with our advocacy efforts, NYSNA is supporting and actively engaged with the New York Grown Food For New York Kids Coalition (NYGFFNYK) that is headed by American Farmland Trust. Do you ever see that bumper sticker, no farms, no food, no future? Yeah that’s them. Their efforts stem from giving farmers support to Farm to School
initiatives. There two main advocacy asks are doubling Farm to School grant money and adding breakfast to the 30% recommendation. Currently, New York provides $1.5 million in state funding for Farm to School program grants. However, due to the popularity of the Farm to School program, the number of requests from school districts seeking grant moneys far exceeds the amount of money requested in the past. Moreover, due to the intricacies of the Farm to School program, there is a strong need within school districts to add more Farm to School coordinators and maintain those that are currently employed. Simply put, this program is growing exponentially, and the current funding level is unfortunately no longer enough to meet the needs. As for the 30% program there is a growing need to add breakfast to the incentive which will allow students to eat more fresh NYS grown foods. Due to strict regulations relating to qualifying purchases, the amount of qualifying school districts is small. Adding in breakfast costs to be considered to reach the 30% number will allow more schools to qualify and provide more avenues for New York State farmers to build back from the COVID-19 pandemic. Want to learn more about the coalition? Click play to listen to Mikaela Ruiz-Ram�n who is the NYS Policy Coordinator for American Farmland Trust with a
passion for supporting farmers. In this podcast Mikaela goes in depth to explain how this coalition was created and what the future holds. What can you do to help? These anti-hunger programs need YOUR support. One thing is inevitable that on June 30th 2022 the waiver will expire and over 800,000 children will lose access to free meals. With your advocacy efforts this can all be prevented, and children can continue to receive the healthy meals they need. • Talk to your local legislature and schedule a cafeteria visit (see next page for tips!) • Market your Food service program on social media (show NYS all the amazing food being fed to students) • Ask your school administrators, school board members, and leaders of your PTA/PTO to advocate for Free Meals for All ▶ Write a letter to your state representative and have superintendents sign it on the school’s behalf • Post on social media advocating for Free meals • Write a letter to your local newspaper • If you are a CEP school, share how free school meals has impacted your district LISTEN HERE
The Public Policy and Legislation committee is excited to announce our 2022 legislative agenda! We need your help to advocate for these programs because COVID-19 showed everyone the importance of strengthening anti- hunger programs as children continue to be faced with food insecurity. It is our goal to speak on behalf of all children who deserve access to free meals. First, in conjunction with the Association of School Business Officials of New York (ASBO) and Hunger Solutions NY we are asking for support from the Governor for Universal School Meals. Our plan A is active as we have met with the Governor’s office to speak out to the federal government in support of language in the Build Back Better Act. What language are we referring to in the Build Back Better Act? • Significantly improve access to schoolmeals byexpanding the reach of the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). ▸ Increasing the program’s multiplier from 1.6 to 2.5 and lowering the CEP eligibility threshold from 40 to 25 percent could make CEP adoption more viable for 270 currently eligible but non-participating schools, allow 323 New York schools to become newly eligible for CEP, and bring additional funds to 673 currently participating schools. • In addition, a provision to allow New York - and other states - to implement the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) statewide would allow all New York students to receive free school breakfast and lunch, and by extension, could make all New York students eligible for the Summer EBT benefits also included in the package.
WINTER 2022 Artie Frego is the Director of Food Service for St. Lawrence - Lewis BOCES. He has been working in school food service over twenty years and is currently overseeing School Lunch Programs for 18 districts. Artie is a two term past president of NYSNA and has a passion for Public Policy and Legislation and Farm to School. ARTIE FREGO • PUBLIC POLICY & LEGISLATION CHAIR FreshBites 61
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