Purchase local food targeting purchases from small businesses and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, for distribution to schools

To increase school linkages to and food procurement from both locally socially disadvantaged and small business producers, kansas state department of education will issue subawards to all national school lunch program participating school food authorities for the purchase of minimally processed and unprocessed meats from local small businesses/producers, thereby encouraging market diversification. School food authorities will be encouraged to prioritize purchasing from socially disadvantaged producers (such as farmers of color, women farmers, refugee farmers, first generation farmers, among others) through facilitation by the kansas rural center and the kansas state department of agriculture. Subaward funds will be allocated to school food authorities in two allocation cycles and follow the model used to administer the united state department of agriculture food and nutrition services supply chain assistance funds to national school lunch program participating schools with all eligible school food authorities receiving a base allotment plus and additional SUM based on student enrollment. School food authorities will be required to OPT in and certify that the funds will only be used for allowable purchases. The kansas state department of education led local meats for schools project will address both by providing schools in kansas with funding to purchase minimally processed and unprocessed meats from local small businesses (farmers, ranchers, meat processors). In conjunction with this funding, kansas state department of education will leverage its existing farm to plate program initiative including beef to school, and organizational capacity to provide connection opportunities and resources to school food authorities and local producers/ranchers/meat processors, with special emphasis on targeting small business and socially disadvantaged, when planning events and communication tools. Quarterly performance reports will be submitted to capture the number of producers, small businesses and socially disadvantaged farmers and producers, dollar value of purchases, and type of food purchased. Annual reports will provide percentages of new marketing opportunities established by purchasing from local and regional farmers and producers, socially disadvantaged farmers and producers, and small businesses. This kansas state department of education led project will simultaneously increase local food purchases by schools and expand opportunities for local, small businesses and socially disadvantaged producers. Kansas state department of education will allocate local meat to school funds to all national school lunch program sponsors for a total of 399 school food authorities and 507,527 students. We estimate that over 300 kansas small business food producers will receive a direct benefit, which would include 168 socially DI sadvantaged producers (using the 56% statewide rate). The recipient plans to subaward funds to individual national school lunch program-participating school districts in kansas.