Thursday, April 18, 2024 | St. Lawrence County, NY
Assemblywoman Addie A.E. Jenne, D-Theresa, has announced the Assembly budget proposal approved Wednesday by the New York State Assembly allocates $300,000 for the third year of a farm-to-school pilot …
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Assemblywoman Addie A.E. Jenne, D-Theresa, has announced the Assembly budget proposal approved Wednesday by the New York State Assembly allocates $300,000 for the third year of a farm-to-school pilot program in the North Country.
She said 19 school districts in St. Lawrence and Jefferson counties have participated in the program administered by the Adirondack North Country Association (ANCA) over the past two school years.
In St. Lawrence County, Jenne’s “River District,” the 116th, includes all St. Lawrence County towns along the St. Lawrence River (Massena, Ogdensburg, Louisville, Waddington, Lisbon, Oswegatchie, Morristown, and Hammond) plus the towns of Canton, Potsdam, Rossie, Macomb, and DePeyster.
"I have found the farm-to-school program has had a tremendous impact on our farmers and their bottom lines. While many farmers in my area were certainly not well-versed in doing business with institutional buyers when we started this pilot program a couple of years ago, they have risen to the challenge," Assemblywoman Jenne said.
She has toured several schools participating in the farm-to-school program and seen the popularity of the program in school cafeterias firsthand.
"Our kids are literally eating it up," Assemblywoman Jenne said of the locally grown products now being served at schools participating in the pilot program. "They are now eating salads for lunch at school, and they weren't before."
She said the Drive to 25 initiative implemented by the ANCA has provided the funding schools need to expand their use of local foods in their cafeterias.
The $600,000 Jenne has secured for the pilot program over the past two years has benefited 19 school districts, 24,000 students and 15 local farms that are now selling directly to schools, a press release from the assemblywoman says.
Jenne notes that Gov. Andrew Cuomo has called for doubling the state's separate investment in the farm-to-school program-from $750,000 to $1.5 million-in his executive budget proposal.
"I expect the expansion of the farm-to-school program, even this mild additional investment proposed by the governor, will have such a positive ripple effect in rural economies that we will kick ourselves for not doing this earlier," Assemblywoman Jenne said.
