CARMEL – Putnam-Northern Westchester BOCES has received a $5 million grant through New York’s Regional School Food Infrastructure Grant Program to
improve meal preparation and distribution for kindergarten through grade 12 students using local agricultural products.
The Regional School Food Infrastructure program builds on New York’s initiatives that prioritize local foods in schools, including tools to help school districts procure and purchase farm products from local producers.
In making the announcement, Governor Kathy Hochul said, “Ensuring our students are eating nutritious, local food means that they will be more ready for their day of learning and playing and that our farmers have a reliable market for their products.”
The BOCES project will establish a Regional Food Processing and Workforce Development Hub throughout the BOCES 18 component school districts that will address critical gaps in processing capacity, workforce readiness, and distribution that limit institutional procurement of New York State-grown and processed food in the area.
Plans include the construction of an ultramodern food processing training facility that includes both an educational building and a shared use of a new modular kitchen, as well as a refrigerated truck to ease last-mile delivery of processed products to the partner schools.
Daniel Novak, director of the Education and Sustainability Center for Environmental Education at Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES, said the grant will help thousands of students and families across the region. “It reflects the power of what can happen when education, agriculture, and community partners come together around a shared vision,” he said. “BOCES, along with our local farmers and school districts, will have the opportunity to increase access to fresh, locally produced food while building meaningful pathways for workforce development. This investment advances our commitments to wellness, sustainability, and community resilience, ensuring that students receive help from healthier food today while helping prepare the leaders, innovators and skilled professionals who will strengthen New York’s food system tomorrow,” he said.
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