HB 871

UNOFFICIAL COPY  26 RS BR 1625
1AN ACT relating to school nutrition programs.
2 Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky:
3SECTION 1. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 158 IS CREATED TO
4 READ AS FOLLOWS:
5 (1)    As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:
6(a)     "Department" means the Kentucky Department of Agriculture;
7(b)     "Eligible district" means a Kentucky school district that spends at least five
8percent (5%) of total food procurement dollars on Kentucky-grown
9agricultural products;
10(c)     "Eligible meal" means a meal served by an eligible school district approved
11to participate in the Kentucky Farm to School Program that:
121.        Includes an offering of at least one (1) Kentucky-grown agricultural
13product;
142.        Is served by a school that participates in federal school meal program;
15and
163.        Meets other criteria established by the department;
17(d)     "Kentucky-grown agricultural products" means all agricultural products,
18as defined by KRS 260.016, that are grown, raised, or produced in the
19Commonwealth, including agricultural products grown, raised, or produced
20by Kentucky students;
21(e)     "Program" means the Kentucky Farm to School Program established in
22this section; and
23(f)     "Program year" mean a school year during which the Kentucky Farm to
24School Program is funded.
25 (2)    (a)     There is hereby established the Kentucky Farm to School Program to
26improve student access to high-quality, Kentucky-grown agricultural
27products.
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1(b)     There is hereby established within the State Treasury a trust and agency
2account to be known as the Kentucky Farm to School Program fund. The
3fund shall consist of moneys received from state appropriations, gifts,
4grants, and federal funds.
5(c)     The fund shall be administered by the department.
6(d)     Amounts deposited in the fund shall be used for the purposes set forth in
7this section and for no other purpose.
8(e)     Notwithstanding KRS 45.229, fund amounts not expended at the close of a
9fiscal year shall not lapse but shall be carried forward into the next fiscal
10year.
11 (3)    The department shall accept applications for eligible districts to participate in the
12program and seek partial reimbursement for eligible meals served by the district
13during each program year. At a minimum, the application shall include:
14(a)     The total number of breakfasts served by the district to students during the
15previous school year;
16(b)     The total number of lunches served by the district to students during the
17previous school year; and
18(c)     The estimated number of eligible meals projected to be served during the
19upcoming school year;
20(d)     A written program plan for the school district to:
211.        Identify Kentucky-grown agricultural products available to school
22nutrition programs that meet the applicable quality standards and
23pricing requirements of the school district;
242.        Offer Kentucky-grown agricultural products during school meals; and
253.        Optimize food usage in the district's school nutrition programs in
26order to reduce food waste in the district; and
27(e)     Any additional information required by the department.
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1 (4)    No later than July 31 of each program year, the department shall:
2(a)     Review all applications submitted by school districts and approve all
3applications that meet the eligibility requirements of this section and the
4administrative regulations promulgated by the department in accordance
5with subsection (8) of this section;
6(b)     Calculate the partial reimbursement rate for each eligible meal approved by
7the department based upon the total funds available in the program fund,
8the total number of eligible districts approved to participate in the program,
9and the estimated number of eligible meals projected to be served during the
10upcoming program year by eligible school districts;
11(c)     Notify each eligible district approved to participate in the program of the
12partial reimbursement amount calculated in accordance with paragraph (b)
13of this subsection; and
14(d)     Invite each eligible district approved to participate in the program to
15confirm its participation.
16 (5)    (a)     No later than August 15 of each program year, each eligible district
17approved to participate in the program shall confirm its participation in the
18program with the department. Failure to confirm participation shall
19constitute a withdrawal of the eligible district's application to participate in
20the program.
21(b)     In the event that one (1) or more eligible districts approved to participate in
22the program withdraw their application, the department may recalculate the
23partial reimbursement rate for each eligible meal and notify each eligible
24school district participating in the program of the updated partial
25reimbursement rate.
26 (6)    No later than June 1 of each program year, each eligible district participating in
27the program shall submit a year-end report to the department on the program that
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1includes:
2(a)     An accounting of all eligible meals provided by the district;
3(b)     A report on the integration of Kentucky-grown agricultural products into
4the districts school nutrition programs; and
5(c)     Any other information requested by the department.
6 (7)    No later than June 30 of each program year, the department shall remit to each
7eligible district participating in the program the calculated reimbursement rate
8multiplied by the number of eligible meals provided by the district during the
9previous program year. Based upon the availability of funds, the department may
10limit the number of eligible meals partially reimbursed to the estimated number
11of eligible meals projected by the school district in its program application.
12 (8)    The department shall promulgate administrative regulations in accordance with
13KRS Chapter 13A necessary to carry out this section, including:
14(a)     An application form for the program;
15(b)     A sample program plan required by subsection (3)(d) of this section;
16(c)     Eligibility requirements for the approval of program applications in
17accordance with subsection (4)(a) of this section;
18(d)     The formula for the department to calculate the program partial
19reimbursement rate in accordance with subsection (4)(b) of this section;
20(e)     The minimal criteria to qualify a meal as including at least one (1)
21Kentucky-grown agricultural product;
22(f)     A form for the year-end report of the district's program required by
23subsection (5) of this section;
24(g)     Status reporting requirements during the program year; and
25(h)     A method of data collection to measure the economic impact of the
26program.
27Section 2. This Act may be cited as the Kentucky Farm to School Act.
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