S 2689: Requires public schools to offer plant-based food options in food service.
The proposed law requires public schools to offer plant-based food options as an alternative to every meal or snack in their food service. Students or their parents can request a plant-based option, which must be offered at no additional cost. The school must respond to the request in a reasonable manner and include information about the availability of plant-based options in their written material. The law defines "plant-based food option" as food or beverages free of animal products, recognized by the US Department of Agriculture as a meat alternate for the National School Lunch Program. The school and school authorities must consult with the school district nutrition advisory committee when implementing this section. The law takes effect immediately and applies to public school food service starting with the school year one year after the law becomes effective.
| Jan. 22, 2025 | REFERRED TO EDUCATION |
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 2689 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 22, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. HOYLMAN-SIGAL, ADDABBO, BRISPORT, BROUK, CLEARE, GOUNARDES, HARCKHAM, JACKSON, KAVANAGH, LIU, MYRIE, RIVERA, SEPULVEDA, SERRANO, SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to requiring public schools to offer plant-based food options in food service The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 915-a 2 to read as follows: 3 § 915-a. Plant-based food options. 1. Upon request by a student or 4 person in parental relation to the student, every public school shall 5 offer the student a plant-based food option as an alternative to every 6 meal or snack offered in food service to the student. All the public 7 school's written material describing food offerings shall include the 8 availability of a plant-based food option. The plant-based food option 9 shall be offered at no additional cost to the student beyond what would 10 be charged for a comparable non-plant-based food option. 11 2. The school shall respond in a reasonable manner and time to any 12 request made under this section, consistent with guidance by school 13 authorities. The request shall be effective for every school meal or 14 snack in which the student is reasonably expected to participate. This 15 section does not preclude the offering of plant-based food options to 16 students who have not requested it, and does not preclude an individual 17 who has requested a plant-based food option from selecting a non-plant- 18 based food option. 19 3. As used in this section: 20 (a) "Plant-based food option" means food or beverages that are free of 21 animal products and, as relates to the "protein" portion of a meal, 22 recognized by the United States Department of Agriculture as a meat 23 alternate for purposes of the national school lunch program. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD02404-01-5S. 2689 2 1 (b) "Animal product" means meat, poultry, seafood, dairy, eggs, honey, 2 and any derivative thereof. 3 4. In implementing this section, the school and school authorities 4 shall consult with the school district nutrition advisory committee 5 under section nine hundred eighteen of this article, where applicable. 6 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to public 7 school food service beginning with the school year, as defined in the 8 education law, beginning one year after it shall have become a law.