Governor Hochul Announces $10 Million Available to Support the Purchase and Preparation of New York Foods in New York Schools

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that $10 million is available through Round 4 of New York's Regional School Food Infrastructure (RSFI) Grant Program to support the purchase, preparation and distribution of more New York foods for Kindergarten through Grade 12 students while providing a boost to New York farmers. First announced in the Governor's 2023 State of the State, the RSFI program has so far provided $30 million to organizations in six regions to facilitate on-site processing and preparation of fresh, nutritious meals and increase the use of more healthy, local New York food products in schools across the state. Round 4 is open to entities in the Capital Region, Southern Tier, Mohawk Valley, and Finger Lakes Regions. The RSFI program is just one example of the many ways that New York State prioritizes farm-to-school programming, while working to reduce food insecurity, strengthen the resiliency of our food system, and support farmers. These programs also complement Governor Hochul's Universal School Meals Program, which helps ensure that every student in New York State has access to a healthy breakfast and lunch at school, creating more opportunities for students to succeed in school.

"I'm proud to say that here in New York State, we have already made sure that our children have access to free breakfast and lunch, and we continue to make it a priority that those meals are increasingly sourced from our local farmers," Governor Hochul said. "The RSFI program is a huge part of this work, providing the funding our partners need to prepare and cook nutritious meals for our kids using fresh ingredients grown and produced in New York. The result is food that tastes homemade and delicious, food that kids want to eat, that keeps them fueled and ready to learn, and by buying it locally, we are also providing more market opportunities for New York farmers."

Administered by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, the RSFI Grant Program is providing New York schools the resources they need to prepare fresh, nutritious meals for students from scratch. Funding from the program goes toward developing facilities that allow organizations to aggregate, store, process, and prepare farm products on-site. The program also encourages workforce development by providing training to schools, communities, and students in culinary arts, food processing, safe food handling and storage, logistics, delivery, and more, based on community need.

Additional Request for Proposal (RFP) Information

Project proposals should be regionally focused on improving meal preparation for K-12 school children, reducing food insecurity, increasing market opportunities for New York State producers, and strengthening the resilience of our state's food system. The program requires that funded facilities serve multiple school districts and support their local community, including providing workforce development opportunities. Grant funds are available for the costs of capital projects to support the preparation and distribution of fresh meals for regional school infrastructure, such as aggregation, storage hubs, and/or commissary-type kitchens. Eligible applicants include not-for-profit organizations, local municipalities, school districts, and Boards of Cooperative Education Services (BOCES).

Funding will be awarded to every region of the state over the course of five years, awarding $5 million every year to two different regions at a time. The first round of funding was awarded to projects in Western New York and in the North Country, with the second round of funding going to projects on Long Island and in Central New York. New York City and Mid-Hudson received funding in the third round of the program. Two additional regions will be awarded $5 million in this fourth round, and one additional subsequent round, until all regions are awarded.

Round 4 proposals are due on January 22, 2027, at 3:00 p.m. More information on the program, project eligibility and how to apply is available here.

New York State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball said, "Thanks to our Governor, the progress already being made through the RSFI program is incredible. Six of our regions across the State are actively working on projects that ensure that our schools have the equipment they need to cook from scratch and use ingredients made by our farmers and producers. With this next round of funding being made available, we can reach even more students and provide additional opportunities for our farmers to get their local food items directly into our communities and support our local food system."

State Senator Michelle Hinchey said, "Our students deserve to eat healthy school meals made with fresh food grown by New York farmers. Both the Universal School Meals and farm-to-school programs help make that possible, but our schools need the infrastructure to cook, store, and serve this nutritious food. This grant program is critical to providing the capital funding schools need to implement that infrastructure - and, in turn, that helps our farmers gain reliable, in-state markets for their high-quality products. I'm proud to champion this program, and encourage all eligible schools to apply."

Assemblymember Donna Lupardo said, "The Regional School Food Infrastructure Grant Program makes smart investments that benefit New York schools, students, and farmers. Providing the needed infrastructure to prepare fresh, locally grown food creates new markets for farmers while giving students nutritious meals. I'm pleased to see this program continue to expand into additional regions, including the Southern Tier, and look forward to seeing more schools and communities thrive from these investments."

In addition to the Regional School Food Infrastructure Grant Program, Governor Hochul continues to prioritize increasing access to food for students and for all New Yorkers, with the Department of Agriculture and Markets implementing an array of programs to build a more resilient food system and ensure that farmers can connect with new local markets.

Under Governor Hochul's leadership, New York State continues to support the Nourish New York Program, the 30% New York State Initiative for school meals, the Farm-to-School Program, the FreshConnect Fresh2You initiative, the Food Access Expansion Grant Program, the Farmers' Market Nutrition Program, the Urban Farms and Community Gardens Grant Program, and more. These investments build on the Governor's commitment to boost demand for New York agricultural products, bolster New York's food supply chain, and ensure all New Yorkers can access fresh, local foods. This also includes the Governor's Executive Order 32 directing State agencies to increase the percentage of food sourced from New York farmers and producers to 30 percent of their total purchases within five years. The Governor has also committed $25 million toward the New York State Grown & Certified Infrastructure, Technology, Research and Development Grant Program to assist food producers, processors, distributors, and others using New York ingredients to bring innovative New York State Grown & Certified products to market.