- Submit verbal or written testimony,
- Share personal stories + experience,
- Engage your Representatives,
- Attend a listening session or hearing 





The GFA Food + Ag Policy Working Group advocates for the redistribution of resources, opportunity and power into communities, most notably, communities of color that throughout history and today are overwhelmingly impacted by the industrial food system.

Through story, data, education and community engagement, the GFA-Working Group organizes around the policies that uphold and demonstrate what a ‘transformed’ food system might and could be. Our primary policies support food and land access for everyone.  

We work to mobilize the Greenwich community in the following ways:








For more information on how to get involved email us
at gfa@thefoodshednetwork.org







FOOD and AGRICULTURE 
POLICY + ADVOCACY





Advancing Greenwich’s food security initiatives by strengthening
& leveraging relationships, knowledge and networks





WHO WE ARE
&
STATEWIDE COALITIONS





The GFA Policy Working Group is comprised of passionate advocates who believe in the power of policy to advance systemic change. We bring diverse experience to our work, and collectively participate in several statewide coalitions: CT Zero Waste Coalition, School Meals For All Coalition and CT Farm To School Collaborative Policy Action Team.


FEDERAL
NUTRITION
PROGRAMS 

CT FOOD + AG POLICY 

We prioritizes policy that address access to food and land:

  • Farm To School
  • Food Security 
  • Food Rescue and Redistribution 
  • Agriculture 

This page is updated on a regular basis through the legislative session which runs from February - June.


The Appropriations Committee released their Budget for FY26 and FY27 on April 22nd. This is a significant step in the process to getting to a final budget by the end of the 2025 legislative session in early June.

The proposed budget from Appropriations is not final, the Governor and the legislator are now working on the two year budget together. The two parties will continue to figure out how to come up with a robust budget until the final budget it voted on in June. Another factor in this budget is what the federal budget does, it could lead to a special session for the Governor to release rainy day funds. 


Rachel Khanna,
former State Representative 149th District








Jan DeAngelo,
Greenwich Pollinator Pathway






Ali Ghiorse,
The Foodshed Network





Geoffrey Anderson,
Greenwich Jewish Family Services





Karen Saggese,
Food Rescue US-Fairfield County



Raised Bill 7013 An Act Concerning Enhancements To The Local Food For Schools Incentive Program And The CT Grown For CT Kids Grant Program. Read the bill.

ABOUT THIS BILL

Improves our state local food incentive program (LFSIP) and supports the continued growth and funding for farm to school (CT Grown for CT Kids).  Provides language and technical assistance along with the funding. 

Governor Lamont's $55 billion two-year budget proposal cuts $1 million annually from the CT Grown for CT Kids Program, which would effectively end the program. Since 2021, more than 130 grantees across the state received almost $4 million to buy produce from local farmers and serve Connecticut schoolchildren with locally grown food. The proposed cuts come at the same time as freezes in federal funding impact Connecticut farmers. 

STATUS UPDATE

Appropriations Committee recommended (FY26 & FY 27)

CT Grown for CT Kids Grant (1 mil each year)

Local Food For Schools Incentive Program (1.5 million for FY26 and 3.4 million for FY27 will be a line item in Department of Education budget, as written into bill 7013)

1.) Restoration of CT Grown for CT Kids funding at 1 million dollars per year.
 
2.) Funding the Local Food for Local Schools Incentive Program (CT Local Food for Schools Incentive Program) through a new line item in the CT Dept of Education’s budget at 1.5 million for FY26 and 3.4 million for FY27. 

Next advocacy steps:
  • Thank appropriations for adding funding back into the budget. 
  • Ask legislators to advocate for a line item on the DOE budget: Local Food For Schools Program (right now the money was put into the “OE” or “other expenses”.
  • Ask for the language to go along with the funding. For ex: Technical Assistance, Training, Evaluation. We have to make sure the language follows the funding. The technical language is important and needs to move along with the funding. 

Fact sheet.

Social media graphic.

H.B 7013 Breakdown. 

FARM TO SCHOOL

CONNECTICUT
FOOD +AG POLICY

Campaign Pillars

Legislator Questions

Did you know?

WHY BREAKFAST IS SO IMPORTANT

  • With the anticipated policy changes to the USDA’s nutrition budget, our school districts will be left without access to healthy school meals
  • Districts/ schools will lose Community Eligibility Provision status
  • 100% of families will be required to fill out app. (admin impossibility)
  • Cuts to SNAP and Medicaid will not only increase food insecurity but also make fewer children automatically eligible for school meals
  • What we need to feed all Connecticut kids breakfast: FY 26 and FY 27 - $13 million PLUS estimated $4 million to make CEP districts whole
  • Consider this: amounts to just half of 1% of the annual budget of over $26 Billion. Every dollar spent on school meals produces a $9 value in return, which is reinvested into our local economies!

School Meals + FTS
Communications Toolkit.




ABOUT THIS BILL

The Governor's budget included school breakfast for the next two years.

  • Year 1: Reduced-Price eligible students are able to eat breakfast and lunch at no cost.
  • Year 2: School Breakfast will be free for all students attending schools serving breakfast.



STATUS UPDATE

  • Less than what governor proposed
  • Maintaining free for reduced price eligible lunches, only $750,000 
  • No breakfast in current proposed budget
  • Funding for school meals was in the wrong line item - small mistake, caused some confusion. Cleanup needs to happen
  • When the federal budget comes out, a special legislative session may be called to fill gaps where there will be a loss in Federal funds and the Governor might draw on rainy day funds.

The recommended budget only includes funding to maintain free meals for reduced price eligible students - and no investment in breakfast for all. This means less than what the Governor proposed back in January. 

H.B. No. 6864 An Act Concerning The State Budget For the Biennium Ending June Thirtieth,
2027, And Making Appropriations Therefor. (Universal Breakfast) Read the bill.




food security

Raised Bill 6917 Act Concerning the Management of Solid Waste. Read the bill.

STATUS UPDATE

  • Received a Public Hearing on 2/19/25 
  • A Joint Favorable vote was received on 2/28 to move the bill out of the Environment Committee. 
  • It was filed with the Legislative Commissioner’s Office for drafting and processing on 3/3.
  • Currently in Appropriations.





ABOUT THIS BILL

  • Fund RecycleCT with $250,000
  • Appropriate $500,000 to DEEP for Commercial Organics enforcement
  • Require commercial organic waste generators to adopt a written food donation policy
  • Apply $1.50 solid waste assessment to additional waste streams
  • Authorize hiring of municipal and regional waste coordinators using miniature liquor bottle fees
  • Authorize a DEEP study of the need and viability of extended producer responsibility programs for consumer packaging



FOOD RESCUE
&redISTRIBUTION

AGRICULTURE

Heading

STATUS UPDATE

  • Fiscal Note: To run farmland program Dept. of Ag would need two new staff and combined staff and benefits would be $300,000 (fiscal office said this -- Dept. of Ag)
  • Ag community not feeling bullish about asking for $300,000 to be added to maintaining $1M Dept. of Ag. budget 
  • Solar project > after it’s over needs to be turned back into farmland 
  • Bill would cover all commercial projects regardless of size


ABOUT THIS BILL

  • Create a grant program through the CT Department of Agriculture to support increased farmland access opportunities for farmers across the state. 
  • Eligible recipients for these grants include agricultural nonprofit organizations, municipalities, and regional councils.
  • Grant funds can be used to complete Buy-Protect-Sell deals. These allow land to be purchased at its market value, protected with an agricultural conservation easement, and sold to a farmer. The grant program will also enable the CT Department of Agriculture to work with land trusts to acquire Option to Purchase at Agricultural Value restrictions which will ensure protected farmland remains in the hands of farmers in the future. Lastly, some of the funds could be used to support the state in owning more farmland and leasing it to farmers looking for long-term lease agreements.   


H.B. 5064 An Act Concerning an Option to Purchase Restricted Agricultural Value. Read bill.

FEDERAL POLICIES 

  • USDA’s Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access (LCMA) Program
  • USDA’s Local Agriculture Market Program (LAMP)
  • USDA’s Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP)
  • LFPA: Advocacy spreadsheet + LFPA Advocacy Toolkit
We track cuts and cancellations to federal food and agricultural programs. 

Status update and resources coming soon!
  • Cuts to FoodCorps
  • Community Eligibility Provision (CEP): eligibility might increase from 25% to 60% - in CT this would impact 262 school districts and 128k students. In Greenwich, New Lebanon, currently a CEP school, would no longer qualify. All CEP schools, including New Lebanon, receive funding to supplement school lunch for all students.
  • Verification: district eligibility might increase from 3% to 100% verification. This will box out almost all schools, and impose a huge administrative burden on families and school administrators. Also it's important to note that qualification for free and reduced meals is automatically certified through programs such as SNAP and Medicaid.
  • SNAP and Medicaid: if impacted in any way it could cause a ripple effect complexity. 
  • Summer Meals: eliminating summer meals sites except those serving students enrolled in a summer program. This would limit access - currently there is open eligibility: no paperwork required. 
  • Changes to SNAP Eligibility: fewer families qualifying means fewer students automatically eligible for free meals.
  • Cuts to SNAP and Medicaid: expected to increase food insecurity across districts.