CNS News– There have been a lot of changes to school feeding laws at the state level this week. A new bill in Minnesota would reimburse schools that serve milk to kids who brought lunch from home. A lawmaker in Oklahoma wants to boost farm-to-school efforts in the state. And lawmakers in Hawaii and Tennessee are thinking about making school meals free for everyone.
Here is the newest law about school diet. Students who bring food from home would be able to get milk under a bill in Minnesota. There is a bill in Minnesota that would let schools give kids a free carton of milk even if they brought their lunch. SF 3912 would pay schools back for every half-pint of milk they give to kids who bring their food.
The bill would start to work in fiscal year 2025 if it is passed. The House has also presented a bill that goes with it. All kids in the state can get free school meals right now. Farm-to-school is important to an Oklahoma politician. A politician in Oklahoma wants to make sure that more local foods are used in school meals.
As part of SB 1473, Senator Jessica Garvin wants to create a farm-to-school grant programme in the state. This programme would offer resources and training for farmers and people who work in school nutrition programmes, as well as leadership at the state level to encourage school nutrition programmes to use more local ingredients in their meals.
The Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee has already passed the bill, and it is now in the Appropriations Committee. Farm-to-school is becoming more and more popular across the country. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has invested $60 million in farm-to-school commodity purchasing and recently teamed up with the Urban School Food Alliance to help schools with procurement issues, such as finding local food.
The Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant Programme gives grants to schools that buy food from farms. Hawaii and Tennessee want to make school food free for everyone. Lawmakers in Hawaii and Tennessee have proposed bills that would make school meals free for everyone in those states.
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As of next school year, HB 1775 in Hawaii would make sure that all public school students in the state get free breakfast and lunch at school. A bill like this was proposed by the state last year, but it was held up in the House. In the same way, HB 255 in Tennessee would make sure that all public school kids get free breakfast and lunch.