NY State Senate Bill 2025-S5140

Senate Bill S5140

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Establishes a farm-to-school task force and requiring all public schools to provide fresh foods to students in a manner that supports local agriculture

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Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Agriculture Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Feb 19, 2025	referred to agriculture

co-Sponsors

2025-S5140 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Agriculture
Law Section:: Agriculture and Markets Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §16, Ag & Mkts L; amd §305, Ed L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2019-2020: S7925
2021-2022: S1907
2023-2024: S337

2025-S5140 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Establishes a farm-to-school task force; directs the commissioner of education to develop a program to require all public schools to provide fresh foods to students in a manner that supports local agriculture and increases market opportunities for farmers from under-represented communities.

2025-S5140 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S5140

SPONSOR: JACKSON
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to estab-
lishing a farm-to-school task force; and to amend the education law, in
relation to requiring all public schools to provide fresh foods to
students in a manner that supports local agriculture and increases
market opportunities for farmers from under-represented communities

 
PURPOSE:

The purpose of this legislation is to create a task force for urban and
rural agricultural regions to work with school food providers and farm-
ers to develop recommendations that will provide fresh foods in all New
York State public schools in a manner that supports local agriculture
while providing market opportunities for farmers from under-represented
communities.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 adds a new paragraph (d) to Subdivision 5-B of Section 16 of
the Agriculture and Markets Law that establishes a task force that will
study and make recommendations on how to provide fresh foods in all
school districts in New York in a manner that supports local agriculture
while providing market opportunities for under-represented farmers. The
task force will consist of 9 members who shall possess expertise in
issues relating to the work of the task force. The task force members
shall be appointed as follows: 2 members by the governor, 2 members by
the speaker of the assembly, 2 members by the temporary president of the
senate, 1 member by the minority leader of the assembly, 1 member by the
minority leader of the senate, and the commissioner, or their designee,
of the Department of Agriculture and Markets. The commissioner, or their
designee, shall serve as the chairperson of the task force.

Section 2 amends Subdivision 31 of Section 305 of the Education Law by
requiring the commissioner of the State Education Department to develop
a program based on the findings of the task force to require all school
districts to provide fresh foods to students in a manner that supports
local agriculture and provides market opportunities for under-represent-
ed farmers.

Section 3 is the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

This bill will build a bridge between our state's schools and the bounty
of New York's farms. It will help us accomplish three major goals:
first, provide the best quality fruits and vegetables available to
schools in every school district in our state; second, help establish
healthy eating habits for children in their formative years; and third,
help guarantee the future of farming in New York by promoting local
agriculture and market opportunities for under-represented farmers. This
will be a win/win situation for students, educators, school districts,
and the state's agricultural community.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2023-2024: S.337 - Referred to Agriculture

2021-2022: S.1907-A - Referred to Agriculture/A.5462-B - Referred to
Agriculture

2019-2020: S.7925 - Referred to Agriculture

 
STATE AND LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first of January succeeding the date
on which it shall have become a law.

2025-S5140 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5140
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 19, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens. JACKSON, BAILEY -- read twice and ordered printed,
   and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Agriculture
 
 AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation  to  estab-
   lishing  a  farm-to-school task force; and to amend the education law,
   in relation to requiring all public schools to provide fresh foods  to
   students  in  a  manner  that supports local agriculture and increases
   market opportunities for farmers from under-represented communities
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Subdivision  5-b  of  section  16  of the agriculture and
 markets law is amended by adding a new paragraph (d) to read as follows:
   (D) ESTABLISH A TASK FORCE TO STUDY AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS ON HOW TO
 PROVIDE FRESH FOODS IN ALL SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN THE STATE, WHILE SUPPORT-
 ING NEW YORK LOCAL AGRICULTURE, AND INCREASING MARKET OPPORTUNITIES  FOR
 FARMERS FROM UNDER-REPRESENTED COMMUNITIES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
 FARMERS  WHO ARE BLACK, INDIGENOUS, AND PEOPLE OF COLOR. SUCH TASK FORCE
 SHALL BE COMPOSED OF NINE MEMBERS WHO SHALL POSSESS EXPERTISE IN  ISSUES
 RELATING  TO  THE WORK OF THE TASK FORCE. TWO MEMBERS SHALL BE APPOINTED
 BY THE GOVERNOR, TWO MEMBERS SHALL BE APPOINTED BY THE  SPEAKER  OF  THE
 ASSEMBLY,  TWO  MEMBERS SHALL BE APPOINTED BY THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF
 THE SENATE, ONE MEMBER SHALL BE APPOINTED BY THE MINORITY LEADER OF  THE
 ASSEMBLY,  ONE  MEMBER  SHALL BE APPOINTED BY THE MINORITY LEADER OF THE
 SENATE AND ONE MEMBER SHALL BE THE COMMISSIONER OR THEIR  DESIGNEE.  THE
 COMMISSIONER  OR  THEIR  DESIGNEE SHALL SERVE AS CHAIRPERSON OF THE TASK
 FORCE.  MEMBERS OF THE TASK FORCE SHALL BE APPOINTED NO LATER  THAN  ONE
 HUNDRED  TWENTY  DAYS AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS PARAGRAPH. VACAN-
 CIES SHALL BE FILLED WITHIN THIRTY DAYS IN THE SAME MANNER PROVIDED  FOR
 ORIGINAL APPOINTMENTS. NO LATER THAN ONE YEAR AFTER ALL INITIAL APPOINT-
 MENTS HAVE BEEN MADE THE TASK FORCE SHALL MAKE A REPORT TO THE GOVERNOR,
 THE  LEGISLATURE  AND  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  EDUCATION OF ITS FINDINGS,
 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD09974-01-5

 S. 5140                             2
 
   § 2. Subdivision 31 of section 305 of the education law, as  added  by
 chapter 2 of the laws of 2001, is amended to read as follows:
   31. The commissioner shall cooperate with the commissioner of agricul-
 ture and markets in establishing a farm-to-school program and coordinat-
 ing  New York Harvest For New York Kids Week as described in subdivision
 five-b of section sixteen  of  the  agriculture  and  markets  law.  The
 commissioner's  responsibilities  shall  include, but not be limited to,
 DEVELOPING A PROGRAM BASED ON THE FINDINGS OF THE TASK FORCE ESTABLISHED
 PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH (D) OF SUBDIVISION FIVE-B OF  SECTION  SIXTEEN  OF
 THE  AGRICULTURE AND MARKETS LAW, TO REQUIRE ALL SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN THE
 STATE TO PROVIDE FRESH FOODS TO STUDENTS IN A MANNER THAT  SUPPORTS  NEW
 YORK LOCAL AGRICULTURE WHILE INCREASING MARKET OPPORTUNITIES FOR FARMERS
 FROM   UNDER-REPRESENTED  COMMUNITIES,  compiling  information  for  the
 department of agriculture and markets from school  districts  and  other
 educational  institutions under the department's jurisdiction interested
 in  purchasing  New  York  farm  products  and  disseminating  to  those
 districts  and  institutions information from the department of agricul-
 ture and markets about the availability of New York farm  products,  and
 contact  information  for  farmers  and  other businesses marketing such
 products. The commissioner shall report to  the  legislature  about  the
 need  for  changes in law to facilitate the purchase of such products by
 schools and other institutions.
   § 3. This act shall take effect on the first of January next  succeed-
 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.

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Senate Bill S5140

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Sponsored By

Robert Jackson