Senate Bill S9522

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S9522

SPONSOR: CLEARE
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the education law, in relation to authorizing farmers'
markets to operate on all state university of New York and city univer-
sity of New York campuses

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

The purpose of this legislation is to provide SUNY and CUNY students
with healthy food options by authorizing farmers' markets to sell
produce on campuses.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Amends the education law to add new paragraph 8 to section
237 to authorize the operation of farmers' markets on all SUNY and CUNY
college campuses. Section 2: Relates to the effective date.

 
              

JUSTIFICATION:

College students often fail to meet national guidelines for dietary
intake, which in part is associated with university food environments,
where students' dietary choices may be limited by the nutritional quali-
ty of campus food choices, in addition to proximity, hours of operation,
and accessibility of dining venues given a student's course and extra-
curricular schedules. Studies reported by the Journal of Agriculture and
Food Research further indicate that healthy food options are a prominent
issue for college students, for which many of them are living away from
home for the first time.

The majority of college students rely on the consumption of low-cost and
high-convenience foods, which becomes one of the principal reasons for
the "freshman 15" and/or the gradual increase in obesity rates across
the nation. Obesity is steadily on the rise for college-aged students
around the ages of 18 to 29 years old, with the average college student
being among the age group that experiences the greatest increase in
unwanted weight gain.

Passing this legislation will expand the access for healthier food
options for all SUNY and CUNY students. Farmers' markets are widely
known for offering a variety of seasonal and local produce which is
often a struggle for college students to incorporate into their diet.

Various state universities such as the University of Texas at San Anto-
nio, provide empirical evidence that the presence of farmers' markets
can significantly increase fruit and vegetable consumption among
students, helping to combat dietary deficiencies.

Ranked as one of the top states in agriculture, New York has the oppor-
tunity to support healthy food initiatives for its college students and
invest in mitigating obesity from early on.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

Soon to be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This bill shall take effect immediately after it becomes law.