Gov. Chris Sununu signed off earlier this month on a two-year, $250,000 pilot program that will incentivize selected New Hampshire schools to buy local.

The program, established by House Bill 1678, will reimburse chosen schools for certain foods that “originate in New Hampshire.” Approved items include meats, fruits, vegetables — and, in New Hampshire fashion, cider and maple syrup.

The Department of Agriculture, Markets, and Food will administer the request for applications. The program aims to choose one school from each of the state’s 10 counties, but if not all counties apply, a second school from the same area may be chosen.

A selection committee with members including a farming representative and a child nutrition expert, among others, will make the picks.

Only schools that participate in the National School Lunch Program, which provides free or low-cost lunches to children, are eligible for the program. The schools chosen should “represent a variety of school sizes, geographic locations, and socioeconomic backgrounds,” the bill reads. — CLAIRE SULLIVAN/NH BULLETIN