Directs the commissioner of education, in cooperation with the commissioner of agriculture and markets, to establish voluntary guidelines to provide for the donation of excess, unused, edible food from school, university or other educational institutions meal programs to voluntary food assistance programs.

---

S2332-2013 Actions

• Apr 30, 2013: referred to education
• Apr 30, 2013: DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY
• Apr 30, 2013: PASSED SENATE
• Apr 29, 2013: ADVANCED TO THIRD READING
• Apr 24, 2013: 2ND REPORT CAL.
• Apr 23, 2013: 1ST REPORT CAL.403
• Jan 16, 2013: REFERRED TO AGRICULTURE

S2332-2013 Meetings

Agriculture: Apr 23, 2013

S2332-2013 Calendars

Active List: Apr 30, 2013 , Floor Calendar: Apr 24, 2013 , Floor Calendar: Apr 29, 2013 , Floor Calendar: Apr 30, 2013

S2332-2013 Votes

S2332-2013 Memo

BILL NUMBER:S2332

TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the agriculture and markets law and
the education law, in relation to authorizing school districts and
institutions of higher education to donate excess food to local
voluntary food assistance programs

PURPOSE OF BILL: To establish a voluntary program to assist and
facilitate the ability of schools districts and institutions of higher
learning to donate excess unused food from their school meal programs
to voluntary food assistance programs for the poor and disadvantaged.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Amends Agriculture and Markets Law section 16 to authorize
the Commissioner of Agriculture and Markets to cooperate with the
Commissioner of Education in developing guidelines for a voluntary
program to coordinate the donation of excess, unused, edible food
derived from school meal programs to voluntary food assistance
programs for the poor and disadvantaged, including community food
pantries, soup kitchens, and other community or not-for-profit
organizations that distribute food.

Section 2: Adds a new Education Law section 305 (32) to ask the
Commissioner of Education to develop voluntary guidelines to encourage
and facilitate the ability of school districts and institutions of
higher learning to donate excess, unused, edible food from meals
served at such facilities to local voluntary food assistance programs.
To minimize any potential mandates on school districts, and the
Department of Education, all that is being asked to be done is to
establish some form of channel of communication between such
educational institutions and nearby voluntary food assistance programs
for the poor or disadvantaged so that if it is advantageous, that
surplus food can be donated to the poor. This section also
interrelates the communication between schools and food pantries with
the farm-to-school program and the New York Harvest for New York Kids
week program, which already is a line of communication on food and
nutrition between the schools and Agriculture and Markets.

JUSTIFICATION:  The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has
encouraged the creation of programs that collect food that would
otherwise be discarded and donate it to voluntary feeding programs
such as food pantries and soup kitchens. There are existing efforts to
collect food leftovers from food service operations such as
restaurants, fundraising dinners, corporate lunchrooms and even
airlines. school meal programs are also potential donors. There is
funding for food gleaning through the Department of Health's Hunger
Prevention Nutrition Assistance Program (HPNAP) which provides State
support for emergency food programs.

Schools are required to carefully plan menus to meet the nutritional
needs of children and minimize food waste. However, at times when
there is bad weather or high absenteeism or other unusual
circumstances there may be significant unserved food that could be
used by emergency food programs. Nearly 2 million school lunches and
breakfasts are served everyday in New York State.


LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:  2007/08 - A.5334 - Referred to Education 2009-10
- Similar to A.6453-A - Vetoed, Tabled.  2011-12 - S. 4288 - Referred
to Education

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:  None.

EFFECTIVE DATE: 180 days after it shall have become law.

S2332-2013 Text

                      S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
  ________________________________________________________________________

                                    2332

                         2013-2014 Regular Sessions

                              I N  SENATE

                              January 16, 2013
                                 ___________

  Introduced  by  Sens. KLEIN, GRISANTI -- 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 and the  education  law,
    in relation to authorizing school districts and institutions of higher
    education  to  donate  excess  food to local voluntary food assistance
    programs

    THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
  BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


    Section 1. Section 16 of the agriculture and markets law is amended by
  adding a new subdivision 5-c to read as follows:

    5-C.  COOPERATE WITH THE COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION, PURSUANT TO SUBDI-
  VISION THIRTY-TWO OF SECTION THREE HUNDRED FIVE OF THE EDUCATION LAW, TO
  DEVELOP GUIDELINES FOR THE VOLUNTARY IMPLEMENTATION BY SCHOOL  DISTRICTS
  AND INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, AS DEFINED IN SUBDIVISION EIGHT OF
  SECTION  TWO  OF  THE  EDUCATION  LAW,  OF  PROGRAMS WHICH ENCOURAGE THE
  DONATION OF EXCESS, UNUSED, EDIBLE FOOD FROM MEALS SERVED AT SUCH EDUCA-
  TIONAL FACILITIES TO LOCAL VOLUNTARY FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS.
    S 2. Section 305 of the education law  is  amended  by  adding  a  new
  subdivision 32 to read as follows:

    32. THE COMMISSIONER, IN CONSULTATION AND COOPERATION WITH THE COMMIS-
  SIONER OF AGRICULTURE AND MARKETS, SHALL DEVELOP VOLUNTARY GUIDELINES TO
  ENCOURAGE  AND  FACILITATE  THE  ABILITY  OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND INSTI-
  TUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION TO DONATE EXCESS, UNUSED, EDIBLE  FOOD  FROM
  MEALS  SERVED  AT  SUCH  EDUCATIONAL  FACILITIES TO LOCAL VOLUNTARY FOOD
  ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS  INCLUDING,  BUT  NOT  LIMITED  TO,  COMMUNITY  FOOD
  PANTRIES,  SOUP  KITCHENS, AND OTHER COMMUNITY AND NOT-FOR-PROFIT ORGAN-
  IZATIONS THAT DISTRIBUTE FOOD TO THE POOR AND DISADVANTAGED.
    SUCH GUIDELINES MAY INCLUDE, BUT NEED NOT BE LIMITED TO:

    A. A METHODOLOGY TO PROVIDE INFORMATION  TO  EDUCATIONAL  INSTITUTIONS
  AND  LOCAL  VOLUNTARY FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS OF THE PROVISIONS OF SUCH
  GUIDELINES;

   EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                        [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                             LBD06714-01-3

 S. 2332                             2

    B. A MEANS BY WHICH EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS  ARE  PROVIDED  WITH  THE
  NAMES  AND  ADDRESSES  OF  ALL  NEARBY  LOCAL  VOLUNTARY FOOD ASSISTANCE
  PROGRAMS;
    C.  A  MEANS  BY  WHICH  LOCAL  VOLUNTARY FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS ARE
  PROVIDED WITH THE NAMES AND ADDRESSES OF NEARBY EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
  WHICH SERVE MEALS UPON THEIR PREMISES;
    D. NOTIFICATION TO EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS OF THEIR ABILITY TO  ELECT
  TO DONATE EXCESS, UNUSED, EDIBLE FOOD TO LOCAL VOLUNTARY FOOD ASSISTANCE
  PROGRAMS; AND
    E. THE PROVISION OF INFORMATION AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ON THE MANNER
  OF HOW TO BEST DONATE EXCESS FOOD IN A SAFE AND SANITARY MANNER.
    THE  COMMISSIONER  SHALL  COORDINATE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SUCH GUIDE-
  LINES WITH THE FARM-TO-SCHOOL PROGRAM AND THE NEW YORK HARVEST  FOR  NEW
  YORK  KIDS  WEEK  PROGRAM  ESTABLISHED PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION FIVE-B OF
  SECTION SIXTEEN OF THE AGRICULTURE AND MARKETS LAW.
    S 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
  it shall have become a law.