Bill Text: NY A03923 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Enacts the "making equitable and alternative lunches (MEAL) act"; requires a public school to offer a plant-based food option, a halal food option and a kosher food option as an alternative to every meal or snack offered in food service to any student who chooses such alternative meal or snack as an option.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to education [A03923 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A03923-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          3923

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 8, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. JACKSON -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Education

        AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to enacting  the  "making
          equitable and alternative lunches (MEAL) act"

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
     2  the "making equitable and alternative lunches (MEAL) act".
     3    §  2.  The  education  law is amended by adding a new section 915-a to
     4  read as follows:
     5    § 915-a. Alternative school meal and snack options. 1. As used in this
     6  section:
     7    (a) "Plant-based food option" means food or beverages that are free of
     8  animal products and, as relates to the  "protein"  portion  of  a  meal,
     9  recognized  by  the  United  States  Department of Agriculture as a meat
    10  alternate for purposes of the national school lunch program.
    11    (b) "Animal product" means meat, poultry, seafood, dairy, eggs, honey,
    12  and any derivative thereof.
    13    2. Every public school shall offer a plant-based food option, a  halal
    14  food  option and a kosher food option as an alternative to every meal or
    15  snack offered in food service to any student who chooses  such  alterna-
    16  tive  meal  or  snack as an option pursuant to subdivision three of this
    17  section.
    18    3. A student or person in parental relation to the student shall  have
    19  the  option  to select an alternative meal or snack option at the begin-
    20  ning of the school year and two additional times during the school  year
    21  as determined by such public school district.
    22    4.  The  alternative  food  options described in this section shall be
    23  offered at no additional cost  to  the  student  beyond  what  would  be
    24  charged for a comparable non-alternative food option.
    25    §  3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to public
    26  school food service beginning with the school year, as  defined  in  the
    27  education law, beginning one year after it shall have become a law.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD07193-01-3