Local Farms – Healthy Kids establishes Washington as a national leader in promoting local food policy.  

By increasing the amount of Washington-grown food consumed through our schools, food banks and farmers markets, this bill will help keep working farms working and promote new awareness of how our food choices affect our health, communities, and the environment.  Increasing consumption of food that has been grown and produced locally reduces packaging, refrigeration, storage and transportation, requiring less energy and resulting in less waste.

A broad coalition of environmental, farming, school and public health interests worked together to push the effort through (see below).  Despite staunch opposition from the Processed Food Industry, the bill reached final passage largely intact.  Through a series of changes to existing purchasing laws and creation of new programs, the Local Farms – Healthy Kids Act is one of the most comprehensive and far-reaching efforts in the country to promote state-level local food policy.  Specifically, the legislation:

• Eases state and school procurement restrictions to better enable school districts and state entities to choose local.  

• Eliminates low-cost bidding requirements for school purchases of Washington-grown food and allows schools to adopt price preferences for local food,

• Requires development of food procurement procedures for state entities to encourage and facilitate purchasing of Washington grown food to the maximum extent practicable, and

• Requires all state food contracts to include a plan to maximize the availability of Washington grown food purchased through the contract.

• Establishes a Farm to School Program that will facilitate the purchasing of Washington–grown farm products by schools.  

• Program includes 2 ½  FTEs in the Dept. of Agriculture that will coordinate with the Superintendent of Public Instruction and Department of Health,

• Program will work with schools and farmers to promote school purchasing, assist farmers in marketing to schools, and provide cirricula on the nutritional and environmental benefits of consuming locally grown food.

• Creates the Washington Grown Fresh Fruit and Vegetable program.  Provides $600,000 per year in grant funds to elementary schools with high numbers of low-income students to make available a locally–grown fruit and vegetable snack program.

• Promotes school gardens.  Authorizes schools to grow food for consumption in their regular snack and meal programs, and requires school garden programs to include education about organic and conventional growing methods.

• Establishes a Farmers Market Technology Program.  Provides $50,000 for the purchase of wireless technology to allow farmers markets to accept both food stamps and credit cards.

• Establishes three Farm to food Bank pilot programs.  Allocates $350,000 to establish three pilots allowing food banks to contract with farmers for a steady supply of fresh-locally grown food.  

• Expands and increases funding for the Farmers Market Nutrition Program.  Requires the Dept. of Health to establish rules for farm stores to participate in the program, and provides an additional $200,000 in coupons to allow low income seniors and women with infant children to shop at farmers markets.

Funding:  $1,490,000 was appropriated to implement the legislation.

The Local Farms-Healthy Kids initiative is supported by a broad and diverse coalition:
Farming Community
Alm Hill Gardens
Baird Orchards
Bellewood Acres
Bellingham Farmers Market
Blue Heron Farm
Cascadian Home Farm
Cattle Producers of Washington
Devine Gardens
Double Rainbow Farm
Eaton Season Ranch
Full Circle Farm
Growing Washington
Heifer International
Let Us Farm
Nash’s Organic Produce
Ninety Farms, Arlington, WA
Nooksack Nine Fruits and Veggies
PCC Farmland Trust
Red Shed Produce
Salt Creek Farm
Sedro-Woolley Farmers Market
Skagitonians to Preserve Farmland
Small Potatoes Gleaning Project
South Whidbey Tilth
Sowing Seeds Farm
Stanwood Camano Farm Tour
The Cascade Harvest Coalition
The Lands Council
Tilth Producers of WA
Tonnemaker Family Orchards
21 Acres
Twin Springs Farm
Victory’s Organic Gardens
Washington State Farm Bureau
Washington State Farmers Market Association
Washington Sustainable Food & Farming  
       Network
Willie Greens Farm
Yerbas de Yakima Organic Hay Farm
 
Children’s /  Health/ Poverty Community
Acting Food Policy Council
Food Lifeline
Greater Seattle Dietetic Association
Sound Dietetic Association of Dietitians Northwest Harvest
Nutrition Trails
Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic
Solid Ground
The Anti-Hunger and Nutrition Coalition
The Children’s Alliance
Thurston County Food Bank
Washington Association of Local WIC
     Agencies
Washington Food Coalition
Bridgeport School District
Business Alliance for Local Living Economies
Good Food Strategies
Health Freedom Washington
Lifelong Aids Alliance
Lincoln School PTA
Lutheran Public Policy Office
PCC Natural Markets
Slow Food Seattle
Slow Food Skagit
Sno-Isle Natural Foods Co-op
Sound Body Nutrition
Spokane Falls Community College
Sustainable Connections
Washington State Catholic Conference
Washington State PTA
Washington State Unitarian Universalist
Voices for Justice
Wellpinit School District
 
Faith, Business, Teachers, Parents,
School Nutritionists
Bridgeport School District
Business Alliance for Local Living Economies
Earth Ministry
Good Food Strategies
Health Freedom Washington
Lifelong Aids Alliance
Lincoln School PTA
Lutheran Public Policy Office
PCC Natural Markets
Slow Food Seattle
Slow Food Skagit
Sno-Isle Natural Foods Co-op
Sound Body Nutrition
Spokane Falls Community College
Sustainable Connections
Washington School Nutrition Association Washington State Catholic Conference
Washington State PTA
Washington State Unitarian Universalist
Voices for Justice
Wellpinit School District
                    
Contact: Tom Geiger
March 11, 2008                                              
Washington Environmental Council
206-631-2606