March 6th, 2025
By Olivia Fuller
AFT Urges Support for Local Food in Schools During National School Breakfast Week
Breakfast is the Missing Link in New York State’s 30% Farm to School Incentive
Albany, NY—American Farmland Trust and the New York Grown Food for New York Kids Coalition are celebrating National School Breakfast Week and schools that serve local, farm-fresh foods to students.
Held during the first week of March, this celebration recognizes the critical role school breakfast has in providing students with a healthy and energizing start to the school day. Beyond the countless health and academic benefits of a nourishing breakfast, there is an economic opportunity to support New York’s farmers that remains under-utilized.
New York State launched the 30% NYS Initiative in 2018, enabling schools that spend 30% of total lunch costs on New York Food Products served at lunch to be eligible to receive up to an additional 19 cents reimbursement per lunch meal served, for a total reimbursement of 25 cents. However, New York is the only state with a local food procurement incentive for K-12 schools that limits this incentive to lunch. In a recent research report jointly authored by AFT and National Farm to School Network, over 70 percent of SFAs surveyed indicated they would purchase more local foods from New York farmers, producers, food hubs, and distributors if breakfast was included in the program.
Excluding breakfast from the incentive leaves money on the table that could support New York farms and unnecessarily limits the amount of local food children receive in school breakfast. AFT and the New York Grown Food for New York Kids Coalition is asking the State Legislature and Governor Hochul to expand the 30% NYS Initiative for Farm to School to include all school meals served through the School Breakfast and National School Lunch Programs at a reimbursement rate of 25 cents per lunch. Companion bills have been introduced in the Assembly and Senate, led by Assemblymember Karen McMahon and Senator Michelle Hinchey, to include breakfast in the 30% NYS Initiative.
In School Year 2023-24, qualifying School Food Authorities (SFAs) spent $9.6 million on NYS food products for lunch, generating important revenue for our NYS farmers. Still, because the program’s lunch-only requirement makes it inaccessible for most SFAs, only $3.1 million out of the $10 million allocation was spent. The expansion of eligible meals will address the current administrative challenge of separating lunch purchases from breakfast, empower schools across the state to support farmers by buying more New York grown food, and ensure students have access to healthy, local food throughout the school day. AFT and the New York Grown Food for New York Kids Coalition recommends maintaining funding at $10 million for the 30% Farm to School Reimbursement Incentive and $1.5 million for the Farm to School Grants Program, which work together to help schools start or expand efforts to procure New York grown food.
“Thanks to the support and leadership of Assemblymember McMahon and Senator Hinchey alongside other farm to school champions in the Legislature, momentum is growing to include breakfast in the 30% initiative,” says Julian Mangano, New York Policy Manager for American Farmland Trust. “This important change will alleviate the burden placed on our hard-working school food professionals to separate breakfast and lunch purchases, ultimately putting more locally-grown food on our students’ plates, and more money directed towards New York farmers.”
American Farmland Trust encourages individuals to voice support for these critical programs by contacting their state representatives through the New York Grown Food for New York Kids action alert.
New York State Senator Michelle Hinchey, Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said, “Every New York student deserves healthy, locally-grown food as part of their school meals, and farm-to-school is the best way to make that happen. Right now, the program isn’t reaching its full potential and too many farmers are missing out on the opportunity to supply fresh food to our students. Expanding the farm-to-school program to include breakfast and snacks will open doors for more schools to participate and put our kids in the best position to learn and grow. I’m proud to sponsor this legislation and grateful to American Farmland Trust and our coalition for their support as we work to secure it in this year’s budget.”
New York State Senator Rachel May, Chair of the Legislative Commission on Rural Resources, said, “Increased food sourcing from local farmers for school meals in New York is one of our success stories. It provides nutritious meals for children while also supporting local farmers and the economy. To further benefit our students and local farmers, we should expand the Farm to School initiative to include all meals in the School Breakfast Program. I look forward to collaborating with my Senate colleagues on this important initiative.”
New York State Assemblymember Karen McMahon, said, “This National School Breakfast week, we highlight the importance of a healthy and fresh breakfast for New York State students and the many benefits of starting the school day in a nourishing way. I am proud to join my colleague, Senator Hinchey, in introducing legislation to include breakfast in the Farm-to-School reimbursement program. This simple change would enable more schools to qualify and encourage the purchase of healthy, New York State produced food products, benefitting New York farms and setting students on the path to success.”
New York State Assemblymember Donna Lupardo, Chair of the Assembly Committee on Agriculture, said, “National School Breakfast Week is the perfect time to highlight the need to expand New York’s Farm-to-School program to include breakfast. We are in a great position to finally help schools take full advantage of the 30% incentive; helping our farmers, producers, food hubs, and distributors in the process. Let’s make it easier for schools to participate, so that kids will have a healthier start in the morning.”
New York State Assemblymember Carrie Woerner said, “This is one of the best examples of a win-win solution. Including breakfast in the 30% Farm-to-School Initiative means healthier kids and healthier farms. Programs that address all stakeholder needs, from consumer to supplier to distributer are especially worthwhile. I remain steadfast in my support of this collaboration between the American Farmland Trust and the New York Grown Food for New York Kids Coalition and I’m grateful for the insightful and holistic approach these organizations take for conserving land, improving farming practices and supporting children’s health in our state.”
New York State Assemblymember Anna Kelles said, “Studies have consistently shown that eating breakfast improves students’ cognitive function, helping them stay focused during class. That’s why it’s essential to continue supporting and expanding New York’s Farm-to-School program. This program helps schools serve locally grown food, ensuring more students have access to nutritious, high-quality meals while also creating opportunities for New York farmers. Expanding it to include breakfast and snacks, in addition to lunch, will bring us closer to the goal of 30 percent local purchasing. Furthermore, increasing the per-meal reimbursement rate from 19 cents to 25 cents will provide even greater incentives for schools to source their meals from New York farmers.”
Bryan McCoy, President of the New York School Nutrition Association, said, “Incorporating breakfast into the 30% initiative is a crucial step in enhancing student health, alleviating food insecurity, and supporting local farmers. Currently, many school districts encounter significant administrative hurdles when attempting to exclude breakfast purchases from their overall food procurement. By including breakfast under the 30% initiative, we can streamline this process, reducing paperwork and conserving valuable time and resources, while ensuring that every student begins their day with a nutritious, locally sourced meal.”
Jennifer Martin, MBA, CAE, CEO of New York School Nutrition Association, said, “Since the program’s inception, very few districts throughout the state have been able to qualify for the program and part of the problem is the administrative barriers to only applying this to lunch. Many studies have shown that expanding this program to include breakfast will result in greater participation. An expansion will also increase economic opportunities for farmers and result in healthier options for students. New York committed to this program when it was created in 2018 and should make the necessary changes to ensure its success.”
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American Farmland Trust is the only national organization that takes a holistic approach to agriculture, focusing on the land itself, the agricultural practices used on that land, and the farmers and ranchers who do the work. AFT launched the conservation agriculture movement and continues to raise public awareness through our No Farms, No Food® message. Since our founding in 1980, AFT has helped permanently protect over 8 million acres of agricultural lands, advanced environmentally-sound farming practices on millions of additional acres and supported thousands of farm families.