Allowing local farm product purchases for school meals

This law allows a school district or a board of cooperative educational services to separately and directly purchase foods (excluding milk) from local producers or producer associations if the producer association is made up of ten or fewer farms. The total amount a school district may spend on local food in a fiscal year is limited to the number yielded by the following calculation: 20 cents * the total population of the county. The law also provides that schools may apply to the Commissioner of Education to obtain permission to purchase from associations with more than 10 growers as well as make purchases of over $150,000 when no other growers have offered to sell to the school.