Purpose of the Bill

The bill aims to address school food waste and promote nutrition among school children in Minnesota by implementing a program that authorizes schools to provide free milk during lunch. It seeks to amend existing law to formalize support for milk programs in schools.

Main Provisions

• Free School Milk Program: Schools are encouraged to offer one serving of milk each day to kindergarten students and to any student who opts out of taking a full school lunch.
• School Lunch Milk Program: This program is specifically for students who do not participate in the full school lunch but still wish to receive milk. It aims to reduce food waste by preventing students from taking unwanted full meals just to obtain milk.
• Program Management and Guidelines: The Commissioner of Education will oversee the program with guidelines for distributing funds and encouraging school district participation. Schools can participate in either the kindergarten milk program or the school lunch milk program or both.
• Reimbursement: Schools will be financially reimbursed for each serving of milk provided. The reimbursement rate is a minimum of 50 cents per half-pint, or a higher rate based on USDA standards if applicable. This is applicable even when milk is served outside of meal programs reimbursed under other sections.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

• Amends the existing statute to establish a dedicated milk provision during lunch times, with financial support for schools, thereby eliminating the requirement for children to take a full meal just to obtain milk during school lunches.
• Formalizes a state-supported reimbursement mechanism for the school milk provided during lunch, which was not explicitly covered under previous regulations.

Relevant Terms

• School food waste
• Free school milk
• Kindergarten milk program
• School lunch program
• Nutritional benefits