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Farm to School bills introduced

Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Thad Cochran, R-Miss., and Reps. Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb., and Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio, today introduced a bipartisan Farm to School Act of 2015 to expand the USDA Farm to School grant grogram, the Farm to School Network and the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition said.

The two identical bills are aimed for inclusion in the upcoming reauthorization of the child nutrition programs, said Helen Dombalis, policy and strategic partnerships director with the National Farm to School Network.

The bills propose an increase in annual mandatory program funding from $5 million to $15 million and greater support for preschools, summer food service sites, after-school programs, and tribal schools and producers, the groups said. The proposed legislation also aims to improve program participation from beginning, veteran, and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers.

“Along with supporting healthy kids, farm-to-school initiatives open new market opportunities for farmers, fishers, ranchers and food entrepreneurs, supporting a stronger local and regional food system,” said Eugene Kim, policy specialist with the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.

“In 2011-12, U.S. schools spent $385 million on local food,” he said. “Expanding farm to school activities through this bill will multiply the economic impact for producers and new, emerging local food businesses.”

The program was originally funded as part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010.

In its first three years, the program received more than 1,000 applications totaling more than $78 million but was only able to fund less than 20 percent of requests from the $15 million allocated, the groups said.