Colorado § 22-82.9-302 - Local school food purchasing program - creation - rules.

§ 22-82.9-302. Local school food purchasing program - creation - rules.

(1) The local school food purchasing program is created in the department to reimburse participating providers for the purchase of Colorado grown, raised, or processed products pursuant to this section.

(2) (a) A school district, district charter school, institute charter school, board of cooperative services, the Colorado school for the deaf and the blind, an approved facility school or facility, or a residential child care facility may apply to the department to participate in the purchasing program to receive reimbursement for purchase of Colorado grown, raised, or processed products pursuant to this section.

(b) (I) The department shall select participating providers that served a number of school lunches determined by the department pursuant to subsection (2)(b)(I.5) of this section in the school year two years prior to the school year for which the participating provider is applying for reimbursement pursuant to this section. The department shall create a form for participating providers to track and report the Colorado grown, raised, or processed products purchased.

(I.5) The department shall only select participating providers that served fewer than two million one hundred fifty thousand school lunches in the school year two years prior to the school year for which a participating provider is applying for reimbursement pursuant to this section, unless the department determines that it can award reimbursements to those participating providers of at least five cents for every school lunch that the participating provider prepared in the school year two years prior to the school year for which the participating provider is applying for reimbursement pursuant to this section or a minimum of one thousand dollars, whichever is greater, in which case the department may select any participating provider for reimbursement pursuant to this section.

(II) The department shall give preference to applicants that:

(A) Demonstrate a commitment to local purchasing or food and agricultural education;

(B) Have a kitchen with the ability to store, prepare, and serve local food products;

(C) Have greater than twenty-five percent of their students eligible for free or reduced price lunch pursuant to the national school lunch program;

(D) Served fewer than one million two hundred fifty thousand school lunches in the school year count two years prior to the school year for which the participating provider is applying for reimbursement pursuant to this section; and

(E) Satisfy any other eligibility requirements established by the department.

(III) To the extent possible, in selecting participating providers, the department shall ensure diversity in geographic location and district pupil count.

(c) On or before August 1 of the year following the participating provider's application, and August 1 of each year thereafter through the year after when the participating provider stops participating in the purchasing program, the participating provider shall track and report to the department for the school year in which it applied, and for the school year two years prior to the school year for which the participating provider is applying for reimbursement pursuant to this section, the total amount of Colorado grown, raised, or processed products it purchased for student meals and the total number of lunches that it provided to students.

(3) (a) In a state fiscal year when appropriations from the healthy school meals for all program fund created in section 22-82.9-211 do not fully fund the award of local food purchasing grants pursuant to section 22-82.9-205, the general assembly may appropriate an amount for the department to reimburse each participating provider for every school lunch that the participating provider prepared in the immediately preceding school year; except that a participating provider is not reimbursed for the amount of value-added processed products that exceeds twenty-five percent of the total of the Colorado grown, raised, or processed products it purchased and that the department may prorate these reimbursements as necessary.

(b) Notwithstanding subsection (3)(a) of this section, the maximum amount of reimbursements that may be awarded in any year is five hundred thousand dollars.

(3.5) During each October after October 2024 in which the department reimburses providers participating in the purchasing program, the department shall reimburse participating providers in an amount established pursuant to section 22-82.9-211 (3)(c)(I).

(4) Reimbursement payments made pursuant to this section accrue to the participating provider's nonprofit school food account.

(5) (a) The state board is authorized to adopt rules to implement the purchasing program.

(b) The department is authorized to monitor the purchasing program to ensure program integrity.

(c) The department shall create, distribute, and collect producer and participating provider surveys required pursuant to section 22-82.9-304.

(6) If in any state budget year the department does not expend or encumber the full amount of the appropriation for the purchasing program, up to five percent of the appropriation is available to the department in the next state budget year to pay for the evaluation required pursuant to section 22-82.9-304.

Source: L. 2024: Entire part added, (HB 24-1390), ch. 133, p. 486, § 11, effective April 29. L. 2025: (2)(b)(I), (2)(b)(II)(D), (2)(c), and (3)(a) amended, (SB 25-214), ch. 372, p. 2009, § 8, effective June 3; (2)(b)(I), (2)(b)(II)(D) and (2)(c) amended, and (2)(b)(I.5) and (3.5) added, (HB 25-1274), ch. 402, p. 2295, § 15, effective December 9, 2025, (see editor's note). L. 2026: (3)(a) amended, (HB 26-1350), ch. 166, p. 995, § 9, effective May 27.

Editor's note: Section 20(8) of chapter 402 (HB 25-1274), Session Laws of Colorado 2025, provides that section 15 of the act changing this section takes effect on the date of the governor's proclamation, only if, at the November 2025 statewide election, a majority of voters approve the ballot issue referred in accordance with § 22-82.9-213 and SB 25-214 becomes law. SB 25-214 became law and took effect June 3, 2025. The ballot issue, referred to voters as Proposition MM, was approved on November 4, 2025, and was proclaimed by the governor on December 9, 2025, see L. 2026, p. 3650. The vote count for the measure was as follows:

FOR: 1,010,644

AGAINST: 681,400

Cross references: For the legislative declaration in SB 25-214, see section 1 of chapter 372, Session Laws of Colorado 2025. For the legislative declaration in HB 25-1274, see section 1 of chapter 402, Session Laws of Colorado 2025. For the legislative declaration in HB 26-1350, see section 1 of chapter 166, Session Laws of Colorado 2026.