Bill Text: NY A02409 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Amended

---

Bill Title: Authorizes the commissioner of education, in cooperation with the commissioner of agriculture and markets, to establish voluntary guidelines to provide for the donation of excess, unused, edible food from school, university or other educational institutions' meal programs to voluntary food assistance programs.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 23-2)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-06-20 - substituted by s5664b [A02409 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-A02409-Amended.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                         2409--B
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                    January 20, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  M. of A. ORTIZ, COOK, GALEF, ROSENTHAL, HARRIS -- Multi-
          Sponsored by -- M. of A. CAHILL, FARRELL, LUPARDO, MAGEE -- read  once
          and  referred  to  the Committee on Education -- committee discharged,
          bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended  and  recommitted  to  said
          committee  --  again  reported  from  said  committee with amendments,
          ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
        AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law and the  education  law,
          in relation to authorizing school districts and institutions of higher
          education  to  donate  excess  food to local voluntary food assistance
          programs
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Section 16 of the agriculture and markets law is amended by
     2  adding a new subdivision 5-c to read as follows:
     3    5-c.  Cooperate with the commissioner of education, pursuant to subdi-
     4  vision fifty-six of section three hundred five of the education law,  to
     5  develop  guidelines for the voluntary implementation by school districts
     6  and institutions of higher education of  programs  which  encourage  the
     7  donation of excess, unused, edible food from meals served at such educa-
     8  tional facilities to local voluntary food assistance programs.
     9    §  2.  Section  305  of  the  education law is amended by adding a new
    10  subdivision 56 to read as follows:
    11    56. The commissioner, in consultation and cooperation with the commis-
    12  sioner of agriculture and markets, may develop guidelines  to  encourage
    13  school  districts and institutions of higher education to donate excess,
    14  unused, edible food from meals served at such educational facilities  to
    15  local  voluntary food assistance programs including, but not limited to,
    16  community food pantries, soup kitchens, and other community and not-for-
    17  profit organizations that distribute food to the poor and disadvantaged.
    18  Such guidelines developed concerning donated food shall comply with  all
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD07734-04-7
        A. 2409--B                          2
     1  federal,  state and local public health laws, rules and regulations that
     2  govern food safety and food donation.
     3    Such guidelines may include, but not be limited to:
     4    a.  a  procedure  to  provide  information to school districts, insti-
     5  tutions of higher education and local voluntary food assistance programs
     6  of the provisions of such guidelines;
     7    b. notification to educational institutions of their ability to  elect
     8  to donate excess, unused, edible food to local voluntary food assistance
     9  programs; and
    10    c.  information  and  technical assistance on how school districts and
    11  institutions of higher education may best donate excess food in  a  safe
    12  and sanitary manner.
    13    The  commissioner  shall  coordinate the implementation of such guide-
    14  lines with the farm-to-school program established pursuant  to  subdivi-
    15  sion five-b of section sixteen of the agriculture and markets law.
    16    § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    17  it shall have become a law.