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SF2840 (Legislative Session 94 (2025-2026))

School food waste reduction; free school milk during the lunch meal in place of a full school lunch authorization; appropriating money

Related bill: HF2387

AI Generated Summary

Purpose of the Bill

The main purpose of this bill is to improve nutrition for students and reduce school food waste by authorizing the provision of free milk during school lunch times, even if students do not partake in a full school lunch.

Main Provisions

  • Free School Milk: Schools are encouraged to provide a free half-pint of milk to students who want it during lunch, regardless of whether they take part in the full school lunch program on any given day.
  • Kindergarten Milk Program: Kindergarten programs in both public and nonpublic schools must be supported to ensure that each kindergarten student has access to at least one serving of milk daily.
  • Program Guidelines and Funding: The Minnesota commissioner of education will establish guidelines and seek both private and public funding to support the program. The program aims to efficiently distribute appropriated and donated funds to participating schools.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

  • Introduction of a school lunch milk program to provide milk specifically to students who might not otherwise receive it, thus reducing unnecessary waste attributed to students taking a full lunch just for the milk.
  • The bill outlines reimbursement rates for schools providing milk to students, establishing that schools can be reimbursed for each half-pint of milk served according to federal school milk program rates or 50 cents—whichever is greater.

Relevant Terms

school milk program, kindergarten milk, school lunch milk, free school milk, food waste reduction, nutrition, public schools, nonpublic schools, milk reimbursement, United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Services, free meals program.

Bill text versions

Actions

DateChamberWhereTypeNameCommittee Name
March 19, 2025SenateFloorActionIntroduction and first reading
March 19, 2025SenateFloorActionReferred toEducation Finance

Citations

 
[
  {
    "analysis": {
      "added": [
        "A provision for school lunch milk served in place of a school lunch under participation in the national school lunch program."
      ],
      "removed": [],
      "summary": "The bill references the existing section 124D.111 regarding the national school lunch program.",
      "modified": []
    },
    "citation": "124D.111"
  },
  {
    "analysis": {
      "added": [],
      "removed": [],
      "summary": "The bill mentions reimbursement guidelines for school lunch or breakfast program under section 124D.1158.",
      "modified": []
    },
    "citation": "124D.1158"
  }
]

Sponsors