Rural Health Network of South Central New York

Millions of children in New York rely on meals served in public schools and early childhood education programs like Head Start and preschools. These meals play a powerful role in shaping student health and educational outcomes. Students who eat school meals daily have better diets than those who do not; they consume more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. While government funding supports school meal administration, nutrition, eligibility, and procurement, it omits a critical element: recruiting, training, and maintaining the school food workforce. School districts report labor shortages as a common challenge for their meal programs; more than 90% of districts nationwide reported labor shortages in 2024. In 2022, NYHealth awarded Rural Health Network of South Central New York (RHN) a grant to develop a farm-to-institution model for early childhood education centers and expanded efforts to connect children and families to fresh, local food at Head Start locations in Broome and Chenango counties. In 2025, NYHealth awarded the RHN a grant to build regional capacity to deliver high quality meals by testing a workforce training program and expanding infrastructure for early childhood education programs to increase local food purchasing and fresh food preparation. 

Under this grant, the RHN will expand its farm-to-early childhood education (farm-to-ECE) model to nine Head Start centers in Broome and Chenango counties. It will support local food sourcing, fresh meal preparation, and use of federal meal reimbursements, while connecting families to nutrition benefits like WIC, SNAP, and subsidized farm share programs. RHN will create professional development trainings for early care providers and expand its statewide farm-to-ECE network to build momentum and chart a path for broader implementation across New York.  

NYHealth also awarded a complementary grant to the Chef Ann Foundation.