With new legislation to be introduced in next year’s legislative session, lawmakers from both parties in Kentucky hope to reduce child hunger while supporting farmers.
The pre-submitted bill by Senator Cassie Chambers Armstrong (D-Louisville) and Representatives Chad Aull (D-Lexington) and Scott McPherson (R-Scottsville) proposes the establishment of the Kentucky Proud School Match Program.
In a statement Friday, Aull said the program would “make the production of products directly from the producer in our school cafeterias more of a reality and make the state a stronger financial partner.”
The new program would allow school districts in Kentucky that participate in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) — a Federal program to reimburse districts for the cost of providing free school breakfast and lunch in low-income areas – to receive more financial assistance from the Kentucky Department of Agriculture when funds become available. According to state data, about 90% of all public school districts and private schools in Kentucky participate in CEP.
For school districts to receive this additional support, they would need to create a plan to reduce food waste and purchase “Kentucky-grown agricultural products” that could prioritize Products of the brand “Kentucky Proud”.
“We know this program benefits both our children and our agriculture industry. Increasing federal investment will produce even better results, especially given rising costs due to inflation and the expiration of federal pandemic relief funds,” McPherson said in a statement.
An earlier study, supported in part by the food bank network Feeding Kentucky, found that school districts in Kentucky generally lagged behind on incorporating local agricultural products into school meals. According to a press release on the pre-filed bill, Kentucky was one of the first ten states to participate in the CEP. when it was founded in 2010Currently, more than 500,000 students in Kentucky are taking advantage of this offer.
“With most schools already using CEP, we believe the state needs to be a better financial partner in this effort,” Armstrong said in a statement. “For many children, the school cafeteria is the only place they get regular, nutritious meals, and studies clearly show that students who are not hungry are more likely to perform well academically.”
