Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that $1.5 million is available for eligible school districts to support the growth of the Farm-to-School programs across New York State ahead of the upcoming school year.

Applications are due November 7, 2019 by 4 pm and should be submitted in Grants Gateway.

Now Available through USDA! 

Offer versus Serve (OVS) National School Lunch Program Posters and Lunch and Breakfast OVS Tip sheets!  

The Offer versus Serve (OVS) Lunch Posters for elementary, middle and high school students may be used as signage to instruct students to select a reimbursable meal under OVS.  The OVS tip sheets are intended for use by school foodservice staff to enhance their understanding of OVS requirements at breakfast and lunch.

This final rule increases flexibility in the Child Nutrition Program requirements related to milk, grains, and sodium effective SY 2019-2020, which begins July 1, 2019.  The purpose of this rule is to ease operational burden and provide school nutrition professionals the flexibility needed to successfully operate the Child Nutrition Programs. This final rule makes the following changes beginning in SY 2019-2020:

The purpose of this memorandum is to notify School Food Authorities (SFAs) participating in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Program of an increase in State reimbursement for meals and snacks claimed in the reduced-price category effective July 1, 2019.

The increase in State reimbursement for reduced-price meals and snacks is a result of additional funding approved in the 2019 New York State budget that is intended to cover the student cost of 25 cents for breakfast and lunch meals and the student cost of 15 cents for snacks served in the Afterschool Snack Program.

New food yields for the following food items have been added to the Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs (FBG) Interactive Web-Based Tool: surimi seafood, tempeh, coconut, popcorn, and hominy. Please see the following memos for guidance on these newly creditable food items:

The list of applicants that were selected to receive the FY 2018 National School Lunch Program (NSLP) Equipment Assistance Grant for School Food Authorities (SFAs) can be found in the link below.

FY 2018 Equipment Grant Awards

Please be aware of a Class II recall which included distribution to school districts for school meals.

AdvancePierre® Foods is voluntarily recalling 20,373 pounds of Tenderbroil Patties CN Fully cooked Flamebroiled Beef Patties. The recall is limited to foodservice customers.

The product was produced at one plant location on November 30, 2018. Each 14.06-pound case contains three bags with 30 pieces each, and bears the establishment code 2260E, a date code of EN83340303 and case code 155-525-0.

Join Farm to Institution New York State in the first annual New York State Farm to School Institute. The NYS Farm to School Institute is a year long school planning and professional development opportunity for school teams (5-7 members) from New York State. The Institute starts off with a three day retreat at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY from August 12-14, 2019.

To apply, go to the website (https://finys.org/institute) and submit an application online by April 12, 2019 by 5pm ET.

Please click on the following links for information about the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program. Due to limited funds, and the large number of high need schools in New York State, we will only be able to award monies to those SFAs that submit applications by the due date and have the highest percentage of eligible students enrolled. We will award starting with 100% eligibility and continue down until funds are depleted.

2019-20 FFVP Guidance Manual