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SENATE DOCKET, NO. 841 FILED ON: 1/14/2025
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 311
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Joanne M. Comerford
_________________
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act establishing the Massachusetts farm to school program.
_______________
PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Joanne M. ComerfordHampshire, Franklin and WorcesterAngelo J. Puppolo, Jr.12th Hampden1/30/2025Adam GomezHampden2/4/2025Jacob R. OliveiraHampden, Hampshire and Worcester2/10/2025James B. EldridgeMiddlesex and Worcester2/10/2025Michael J. BarrettThird Middlesex2/11/2025Patricia D. JehlenSecond Middlesex2/19/2025Norman J. Orrall12th Bristol2/20/2025Sal N. DiDomenicoMiddlesex and Suffolk2/24/2025John F. KeenanNorfolk and Plymouth2/25/2025Manny Cruz7th Essex2/26/2025Bruce E. TarrFirst Essex and Middlesex2/26/2025 1 of 6
SENATE DOCKET, NO. 841 FILED ON: 1/14/2025
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 311
By Ms. Comerford, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 311) of Joanne M. Comerford,
Angelo J. Puppolo, Jr., Adam Gomez, Jacob R. Oliveira and other members of the General Court
for legislation to establish farm to school grants to promote healthy eating and strengthen the
agricultural economy. Education.
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE SENATE, NO. 243 OF 2023-2024.]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)
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An Act establishing the Massachusetts farm to school program.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Chapter 69 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following
2section:-
3 Section 38. (a) (1) The department of elementary and secondary education shall
4administer a Massachusetts Farm to School Program, consisting of a grant program and a local
5food incentive, with the aim of strengthening the commonwealth’s food and agriculture
6economy, improving student health and nutrition and building food literacy amongst students.
7The program shall build the capacity of primary and secondary schools and licensed childcare
8programs to purchase ingredients grown, raised, caught and processed in Massachusetts and
9other states in the New England region or the state of New York, prepare scratch-cooked meals 2 of 6
10and provide food literacy education to students, including, but not limited to, curriculum on the
11food system and the use of experiential and garden-based learning.
12 (2) The department shall establish an advisory committee to advise the department on the
13development and administration of the Farm to School Program. The committee shall include a
14representative from each of the following groups: the department of agricultural resources, the
15department of early education and care, the division of marine fisheries, Massachusetts Farm to
16School and the School Nutrition Association of Massachusetts, Inc., and a geographically and
17demographically diverse group of stakeholders appointed by the commissioner.
18 (3) The department shall employ a full time program coordinator for the Farm to School
19Program. The responsibilities of the program coordinator shall include:
20 (i) working with the advisory committee to instruct the department on actions and
21strategies for establishing and implementing the Massachusetts Farm to School program; (ii)
22overseeing program implementation; (iii) assessing and building the capacity of interested
23School Food Authorities and early education and care programs to participate in the program,
24which may include contracting with public and nonprofit entities to provide technical assistance
25to school and early education staff, farmers, food distributors and processors; and (iv) ensuring
26timely reimbursement to participating School Food Authorities and early education and care
27programs.
28 (b) (1) The department shall, in consultation with the advisory committee established in
29subsection (a) of this section, establish a Farm to School grant program to advance the use of
30local foods in schools and provide food literacy education to students. 3 of 6
31 (2) To be eligible for grant funding the department shall require that applicants: (i) be a
32K-12 school or licensed child care program located in the commonwealth; and (ii) provide meals
33through the National School Lunch Program or the Child and Adult Care Food Program.
34 (3) The grant program shall provide, subject to appropriation, funding for the following
35local food and food literacy priorities: (i) adequate kitchen equipment used to prepare food for
36serving in school or early education meals and snacks including, but not limited to, local, fresh
37produce, meats, seafood and dairy items; (ii) training for kitchen staff in preparing fresh meals
38using local ingredients and in procuring such ingredients; (iii) training for educators and other
39school or early education staff in adding or integrating food system lessons to their curriculum;
40(iv) programming for curricular and extracurricular activities, such as farm field trips and school
41gardens, for students to learn about agriculture and the food system; and (v) infrastructure for
42classroom projects related to food literacy such as school gardens or indoor growing systems.
43 (4) There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate
44fund, to be administered by the commissioner of the department of elementary and secondary
45education, which shall be known as the Massachusetts Farm to School Fund. The Fund shall
46consist of all revenues from public and private sources as appropriations, gifts, grants, donations,
47reimbursements from the federal government and grants-in-aid or other receipts to further the
48purposes of the Fund in accordance with this section. Any unexpended funds appropriated for
49purposes of this section shall not lapse at the end of the fiscal year but shall be available for
50expenditure during the next fiscal year.
51 (5) The department, in consultation with the advisory committee, shall promulgate
52regulations or guidelines to implement the grant program established pursuant to subsection (b) 4 of 6
53of this section. The regulations or guidelines promulgated by the department shall include
54eligibility criteria that promotes geographic, social, economic and racial equity in distribution of
55grant funds. Grants shall be awarded in consultation with the advisory committee.
56 (c) (1) The department shall, in consultation with the advisory committee established in
57subsection (a), develop a Massachusetts Local Food Incentive program, to reimburse school food
58authorities, as defined in 7 CFR 225.2 and hereinafter referred to as SFAs, and licensed early
59education and care programs participating in the Child and Adult Care Feeding Program, as
60defined in section 1 of chapter 15D, for money spent to purchase food from local farms, fishers
61and producers.
62 (2) School districts participating in the federal National School Lunch Program and
63licensed early education and care programs participating in the federal Child and Adult Care
64Feeding Program shall be eligible for participation and reimbursement through the program.
65Participants in the program shall be reimbursed 1 dollar for every 2 dollars of purchases of
66products grown, raised or caught in Massachusetts. Participants in the program shall be
67reimbursed 1 dollar for every 3 dollars of purchases from regional vendors where such product
68originates within other states in the New England region or the state of New York. Food
69purchases eligible for reimbursement shall include direct purchases from farms and farmer
70cooperatives, fishers and fishing cooperatives, food hubs and wholesale distributors. The
71department shall confirm the place of origin for the products through self-attestation from the
72originating producer or any other user-friendly means required by the department.
73 (3) The department, in consultation with the advisory committee, shall promulgate rules
74relative to the specifications and qualifications for eligible foods for the program including, but 5 of 6
75not limited to, value-added dairy, unprocessed and lightly processed seafood, pork, beef, poultry,
76eggs, fruits, vegetables, grains, honey and maple syrup. The department shall encourage
77purchases of products originating from socially disadvantaged farmers or producers or from
78small farm or seafood businesses, as documented to participating SFAs or early education and
79care programs. All food items purchased through the program shall comply with federal Child
80Nutrition Program guidelines. When developing the rules, the department, in consultation with
81the advisory committee, shall consider any necessary differences in program administration to
82ensure equitable participation by early education programs.
83 (4) The department shall, in consultation with the advisory committee, promulgate
84regulations to implement the program, which shall include eligibility criteria, promotional and
85outreach campaigns, identification of product eligibility, sourcing information and guidelines for
86reimbursement and reporting requirements. The department shall annually determine the
87maximum funding award per district or early education program based on the annual
88appropriation level and any available federal funding. The department shall maximize federal
89financial participation for state expenditures made on behalf of program enrollees and work to
90ensure any available federal funds are incorporated into existing programs for eligible SFAs and
91early education programs. The regulations or guidelines promulgated by the department shall
92promote geographic, social, economic and racial equity in program impact and in distribution of
93state funds.
94 (d) The department shall, in consultation with the advisory committee, annually on or
95before January 31, submit a report of the Massachusetts Farm to School program’s activities and
96impact to the clerks of the house and the senate, the house and senate committees on ways and
97means, the joint committee on education and the joint committee on agriculture. To write this 6 of 6
98report, the department shall, in consultation with the advisory committee, develop a survey on
99the grant program and the local food incentive to be distributed annually to participating school
100districts and early education programs in order to collect data to document the impacts of the
101program and any challenges, including additional staffing or training needs. The annual report
102shall describe the program’s impacts including, but not limited to: (i) testimonials from students,
103teachers and staff at participating schools and early education programs and participating
104producers and food businesses; (ii) the number of impacted students in participating schools and
105early education programs; (iii) the number of new or expanded school gardens; (iv) the value of
106food purchased through the incentive program, including a breakdown of the number, business
107type and geographic location of participating farms, producers and food businesses; and (v)
108analysis of the current unmet need for the program and what financial and other resources are
109needed to meet said needs.
110 SECTION 2. The department of elementary and secondary education shall promulgate
111regulations pursuant to the program set forth in section 1 within 180 days of the effective date of
112this act.