Broccoli anyone? Copiague district serving fresh food as part of NYS Initiative

The lunch menu on a recent Thursday at Walter G. O'Connell High School in Copiague featured broccoli grown on a Suffolk County farm, milk from the Hudson Valley and meatballs from upstate New York.

The servings were part of “NY Thursdays,” an offering of food grown and produced across the state and placed on students' lunch trays to enhance nutrition and support local farms. Copiague is among the first districts on Long Island working to become part of a program run by the state Department of Agriculture and Markets called the "30% NYS Initiative," in which systems receive extra funding for lunch if they spend 30% of their food budgets on New York products.

NYS Initiative is part of several efforts across Long Island and statewide to get more fresh food into school cafeterias. Copiague launched its program last month.

Earlier this month, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced $12 million in federal funding for schools to purchase regionally produced foods and beverages. Meanwhile, some districts across the Island have partnered with local growers to boost "Farm-to-School" efforts.

Walter G. O'Connell High senior Alice Fartushynska, 16, who eats lunch in the cafeteria daily, said this school year "has been great. The food has gotten much better. It tastes better."

Educators have said access to nutritional food can help children succeed academically. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Department of Agriculture allowed districts nationwide to serve free breakfast and lunch to all students regardless of their parents' income. Before the pandemic, families had to be below certain income levels for their children to qualify. The program ended this school year.

Some school systems, including in Copiague, still qualify to serve free meals due to a high poverty level in the community. School officials said that was one reason they sought to join NYS Initiative this year.

"The financial benefit that we get more for every lunch that we serve is important, but the fact that it is much more appealing to the kids … and that it is locally sourced is also important," Copiague Superintendent Kathleen Bannon said. "In this district, we have a tremendous amount of food insecurity. We have to ensure that students have balanced food when they are here."

School food services are self-sustaining, but districts receive reimbursements from federal and state governments to cover some costs. 

To incentivize districts to use more New York farm products, NYS Initiative increases the state reimbursement for lunches from 5.9 cents per meal to 25 cents per meal for any district that purchases at least 30% of ingredients from products such as farm-fresh produce and locally raised meats. Introduced during the 2018-19 school year as part of No Student Goes Hungry legislation, there are now more than 60 districts participating, said Cheryl Bilinski, Local Food Systems specialist and the Farm-to-School lead for Cornell Cooperative Extension Harvest NY. With funding from the NYS Department of Agriculture & Markets, the organization provides training and technical assistance to farms and school systems.

Since inception, there has been $10 million earmarked annually in the budget to support the program, Bilinski said.

Upstate districts have been more successful in the program due to several factors, including access to local producers and dairy products. Despite strong interest and commitment, participation by Long Island districts has been stymied by a lack of access to New York milk, Bilinski said.

No Long Island schools have yet received reimbursement through NYS Initiative, according to the state Department of Agriculture and Markets, but there are several efforts to increase access to state-produced milk, which will help them reach the program’s threshold. Copiague has been able to procure local milk and dairy products this school year, officials there said.

School systems track New York items throughout the year and then submit an application to the state for reimbursement the following school year.

There are about 15 Long Island districts purchasing local foods, and a handful of those systems are planning to apply to NYS Initiative this school year, according to Amy Bly, regional Farm-to-School coordinator for the Long Island Region Cornell Cooperative Extension Harvest NY.

"Copiague … may in fact be one of the first Long Island schools to apply and qualify for the 30% NYS Initiative," Bly said.

"It's really a win-win for everyone. As well as connecting the children with more local, fresh, nutrient-dense foods … we're also decreasing the carbon footprint” by trucking food from Suffolk farms to local schools, she said.

In Copiague, some dairy items are being offered daily, such as milk, yogurt and cheese sticks, said MaryAnne Metzak, the district’s director of cafeteria services. The district enrolls roughly 4,700 students in grades K-12.

“On Thursdays, we have different dishes that feature New York-sourced pasta, beef, chicken, fruits and vegetables," Metzak said. "When it's picked a couple of weeks ago and then shipped directly to us, it's the freshest possible item that you could get. But it's also helping our local communities."

The NYS Initiative is related to another nutrition program called "Farm-to-School." Several Island districts, including Southampton, Bridgehampton, Tuckahoe, North Shore and Brentwood, have participated in that program, Bly said.

The Department of Agriculture and Markets has reported that nearly $450,000 has been awarded to schools on Long Island since 2016 through the state’s Farm-to-School grant program.

In Southampton, the district has used grant funding to hire a Farm-to-School coordinator, train chefs and purchase equipment to make more meals from scratch using local ingredients, said Regan G. Kiembock, Southampton's director of Food Services. The district is part of the East End Farm-to-School project, which includes schools in Tuckahoe and Bridgehampton and just recently, Riverhead and Westhampton.

The Southampton district is working on getting milk deliveries to qualify for NYS Initiative.

"At Southampton, we are surrounded by farms and have always had many local farmers that we purchase local foods from," Kiembock said.

Adam Halsey, who has a farm in Water Mill, has helped the Southampton district with its school garden and supplies fresh produce for meals.

"It's been a very good relationship, and I think it is important that the local farmers are being supported by the local school district," Halsey said.

By Joie Tyrrell

joie.tyrrell@newsday.com@JoieTyrrell

Joie Tyrrell is a Long Island native and covers education for Newsday, where she has worked since 1998.