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The state Department of Agriculture and Markets and the Office of General Services are now directing all state agencies to submit better reporting of their purchases of New York-produced foods according to an audit by Thomas P. DiNapoli, state comptroller.
"In 2013, in an effort to boost New York-based agriculture, state law was changed to encourage state agencies to buy local and track how much the state was spending on food," DiNapoli said.
"My auditors found the implementation of the program needed improvement. The tracking of purchases was not up to par and state agencies were not always given the necessary guidelines or training to buy more locally produced foods. With changes put in place since our audit began, New York farmers and food producers could see increased business from the state."
To assist agencies in increasing their purchases of New York-grown agricultural products and promote local farms and agricultural businesses, state law requires the Office of General Services and the department of Agriculture and Markets to develop regulations, establish guidelines, and provide training on New York state food purchasing to agency personnel. The Office of General Services is also responsible for tracking data on state agencies' food purchases and for providing a Food Metrics Annual Report to the governor and the state Legislature detailing these purchases. The report is supposed to include information on the Office of General Services' efforts to improve and increase the tracking of information relating to New York state foods procured by agencies, as well as data on the types and sources of food products purchased by agencies during the year.
Foods are considered New York state products if they have been grown, harvested, produced or processed in the state.
DiNapoli's auditors found that recent Food Metrics Annual Reports contained calculation errors and lacked complete information on statewide food purchasing. For example, the 2015 report omitted two months (October and November) of purchase data from a contractor, including 3,689 transactions worth $245,000 involving New York sources.
The report also improperly included about $11 million in purchases made by entities that are not operated by the state.
Auditors also found the Office of General Services and the Department of Agriculture and Markets had not developed guidelines called for in the law to direct and assist state agencies in procuring New York state food products, nor had the Office of General Services provided training to agency personnel, as required by the law.
In May, in response to the audit, the Office of General Services and the Department of Agriculture and Markets finalized and published the required guidelines for state agencies. These guidelines now direct agencies to submit more complete reporting of food purchases to the Office of General Services, which should aid in issuing more accurate Food Metrics Annual Reports in the future and ultimately increase the purchase of New York food products.
The audit recognized the progress made by the Office of General Services and the state Department of Agriculture and Markets in the development of the program guidelines, and recommended that the Office of General Services:
¯ Develop and provide training to agencies and vendors on reporting and purchasing of New York state foods; and
¯ Develop and implement adequate controls to detect and correct anomalies and inaccuracies in the data used to create the Food Metrics Annual Report.
In general, agency officials agreed with the recommendations and noted the actions they have taken to implement them.