From the Farm to the Lunch Table: New Local Initiative for NYC

Today marks the launch of the "New York Thursday" program in all city public school lunch programs. It pledges to incorporate foods in school menus that are produced in local upstate farms every Thursday. 

Lawmakers and farmers alike say the program not only boosts health and food education for New York students, but also supports the local agricultural economy. Eric Goldstein, the CEO of School Support which is a branch of the Department of Education, leads the charge on the local intiative. "Look there's a lot of great farmland in this country, but there's also a lot of great farmland in New York State. We want to make sure New York has a really good representation on the plates of our students," said Goldstein. 

At the moment, only 35% of the average New York public school lunch menu offers local produce. As opposed to only 20% the other days of the week, the program hopes to reach 50% for every Thursday by the end of the school year. In 2015, the Department of Education spent a total of $33.4 million on local food procurement. 

For the farmers, the "New York Thursday" initiative is a part of a larger movement, focused on the locality of foods. Owner of Walnut Ridge Dairy Farm in Lansing, New York, Skip Hardy says, "The millenials have really up'd their game on making sure the food they eat is fresh, local, and healthy. I think that's a great thing for farmers because we've known that for forever. Now the millenials are starting to bring that to the forefront."

Local products already imported this year to student's lunch plates include thirty-five million apples, seven million gallons of milk, three million servings of yogurt, and even one million servings of Jamaican patties.