1264a. Locally produced foods
(a) It is a goal of the State that by the year 2023, at least 20 percent of all foods purchased by eligible entities, as defined by subsection (e) of this section, be locally produced foods. Eligible entities have the discretion to define what foods are included within the definition of “locally produced foods” for the purposes of this subsection and subsection (b) of this section.
(b) On or before December 31, 2021 and annually thereafter, an eligible entity operating a school lunch, breakfast, or summer meals program shall report to the Agency of Education an estimate of the percentage of the cost of all foods purchased by the eligible entity for those programs that were locally produced foods during the one-year period ending on June 30 of that year.
(c)(1) Beginning with the 2021–22 school year and thereafter, eligible entities shall be eligible for a local foods incentive grant (grant) from funds appropriated to the Agency of Education for this purpose.
(2) A eligible entity may apply for the grant if it has:
(A) developed a locally produced foods purchasing plan that describes the eligible entity’s goals for purchasing locally produced foods and its plan to achieve those goals;
(B) designated an individual as the food coordinator for locally produced foods, who shall be responsible for implementing the locally produced foods purchasing plan;
(C) developed a process for tracking the purchase of locally produced foods; and
(D) complied with the reporting requirement under subsection (b) of this section.
(3) An eligible entity that has satisfied the conditions under subdivision (2) of this subsection may, on or before January 15, 2022 or on or before January 15 of any year thereafter, apply to the Agency for the grant by submitting a certification, signed by the business manager for the eligible entity, that the eligible entity satisfies the conditions under subdivision (2) of this subsection.
(4) If an eligible entity is eligible for a grant under subdivision (3) of this subsection, then the Agency shall make the grant payment, subject to appropriation, on or before the following March 31 after submission of the eligible entity’s application, which is due on or before January 15 of that year, which shall be equal to $0.15 per reimbursable school lunch served by the eligible entity in the prior school year through the National School Lunch Program. An eligible entity may apply for this grant and receive this grant funding only once.
(5)(A) An eligible entity that has received a grant under subdivision (4) of this subsection (c) may, on or before January 15, 2023 or on or before January 15 of any year thereafter, apply for a further grant by submitting to the Agency of Education information that demonstrates that at least 15 percent of the cost of all foods purchased or grown, raised, or produced by the eligible entity during the one-year period ending on June 30 of the previous year were local to Vermont as defined in 9 V.S.A. § 2465a(b), excluding:
(i) foods purchased or grown, raised, or produced by the eligible entity that were used to provide catering services for which the eligible entity received compensation; and
(ii) fluid milk.
(B) If an eligible entity grows, raises, or produces food, it shall assign a fair market value to that food for the purpose of reporting its cost.
(C) A vendor that contracts with an eligible entity to supply food products shall certify to the supervisory union which of the food products supplied meet the definition of local to Vermont, taking into account the exclusions under subdivision (A) of this subdivision (c)(5).
(6) If an eligible entity is eligible for a grant under subdivision (5) of this subsection, the Agency shall, on or before the following April 30 after submission of the eligible entity’s application, which is due on or before January 15 of that year, make the grant payment, subject to appropriation, which shall be determined as follows:
(A) $0.15 per reimbursable school lunch served in the prior school year through the National School Lunch Program for supervisory unions purchasing at least 15 percent locally produced foods;
(B) $0.20 per reimbursable school lunch served in the prior school year through the National School Lunch Program for supervisory unions purchasing at least 20 percent locally produced foods; or
(C) $0.25 per reimbursable school lunch served in the prior school year through the National School Lunch Program for supervisory unions purchasing at least 25 percent locally produced foods.
(7) An eligible entity may apply for and receive grant funding under subdivisions (5) and (6) of this subsection for each year that it qualifies for this grant funding. For applications covering the 2020–2021 school year, meals served through the Summer Food Service Program shall also be counted for this grant payment.
(8) The Agency of Education may perform sample audits for any year that grant funds are paid to eligible entities under subdivision (6) of this subsection to verify that information provided to the Agency under subdivision (5) of this subsection is accurate. If the Agency makes a grant payment under subdivision (6) of this subsection to an eligible entity that was based on inaccurate information reported by the eligible entity, the Agency may seek reimbursement from the eligible entity for an overpayment or reimburse the eligible entity for an underpayment or may adjust future grant amounts under this section to reflect the over- or underpayment.
(d)(1) On or before January 31, 2022 and annually thereafter, the Agency of Education shall submit to the Senate Committees on Agriculture and on Education and the House Committees on Agriculture and Forestry and on Education in an aggregated form:
(A) the information received from eligible entities regarding the percentage of locally produced foods, as the eligible entities define them, that were reported under subsection (b) of this section; and
(B) the percentage of locally produced foods, using the grant funding definition, that were reported under subdivision (c)(5) of this section and the amount of grant funding paid to eligible entities under subdivision (c)(6) of this section in the prior school year.
(2) The provisions of 2 V.S.A. § 20(d) regarding expiration of required reports shall not apply to the reports required by this subsection.
(e) As used in this section, “eligible entity” means:
(1) a supervisory union or supervisory district; or
(2) an approved independent school operating a food program, as defined by subdivision 1261a(1) of this title, that also qualifies for the universal meals supplement pursuant to section 4017 of this title.
Added 2021, No. 67, § 7, eff. June 8, 2021; amended 2023, No. 64, § 4, eff. July 1, 2023.
