Cafeterias in 10 New Hampshire school districts are set to receive an influx of local food in coming years, following the creation earlier this month of a statewide reimbursement program.

The program, signed into law by Gov. Chris Sununu, will appropriate a total of $241,000 over two years to one school district in each county to help offset the cost of buying food from farms and fisheries in the state.

The school districts selected – which will be determined in the coming months – will be reimbursed for one-third of what they spend on food that comes from New Hampshire. Fruits, vegetables, dairy, fish, and other meat are all eligible for reimbursement.

The establishment of the two-year pilot was the culmination of a three-year legislative effort to create a local food incentive program for schools. Sixteen other states, including Maine, Vermont and Connecticut, already run similar programs, according to Stacey Purslow, the coordinator of the New Hampshire Farm to School Program.

“We have a real issue with knowing about food and making good choices when it comes to what you’re going to eat,” said Purslow, whose organization will support the state Department of Agriculture in coordinating the program.

The program will have educational, health, environmental, and economic benefits for students and farmers in the state, Purslow predicted.

Rep. Alexis Simpson, an Exeter Democrat, was the prime sponsor of the bipartisan bill and has been involved in bringing local food into schools for over a decade. She said that work varies significantly.

“The really great thing about farm-to-school is it looks like what fits a particular school and a particular district best,” Simpson said. “It’s not a one-size-fits-all program.”

In the Exeter School District, for example, the food program has implemented a “Try It Tuesday” initiative, in which it offers a new food each week, such as roasted turnips, Simpson said.

The program has also been championed by farmers in the state.

“We’re very excited that the pilot program has gotten through the legislature this year and been signed into law by the governor,” said Nikki Kolb, the operations director of the New Hampshire chapter of the Northeast Organic Farming Association. “For farmers in our network, this opens up another market opportunity.”

For Rep. Dan Wolf, another bill sponsor and a self-described “hobby farmer”, the program – if it expands following the pilot – could be an economic boon for farmers during a challenging economic period.

“Anything that can help a farmer out is a help. It may be small, but a lot of small things can add up,” said Wolf, a Newbury Republican and the owner of Moonstone Farm, which will not benefit from the program.

One challenge historically in farm-to-school partnerships is that produce is generally most plentiful during the summer months when school is not in session. A reimbursement program may spur some farms to change what they grow or process more food so that it is available come fall, predicted Chuck Souther, the co-owner of the Apple Hill Farm in Concord.

“That’s not necessarily a bad thing,” said Souther, who has sold to the Concord School District in the past.

The bill calls for the Department of Agriculture to convene a six-person committee to review grant applications submitted by school districts, a process which will likely begin in September, said Josh Marshall, the department’s assistant commissioner. Marshall said he hopes the districts will be selected and money will be available starting in January 2025.

Of the $241,000 appropriated, $140,000 will go directly to reimbursements, $70,000 will go toward hiring a coordinator, and the remaining $31,000 will go toward training school food staff.

Jeremy Margolis can be contacted at jmargolis@cmonitor.com.