Subscribe to the RSS feed.Farm to School Bill Failed During Budget Crisis - Will Not Go Away
As students and teachers around Oregon return from summer vacation and ask themselves what happened to Farm to School, it’s important that they know how hard people worked for the statewide bill and why it failed.
A bill that would have increased Farm to School programs statewide with much-needed funding failed to pass in the legislature this past session despite the program’s widespread support.
“It came down to money,” said Mel Rader, who lobbied hard for the bill (HB 2800) as project director of farm to school and transportation policies at Upstream Public Health. “The budgets were really tight this year. There weren’t very many new programs at all that went through. Most programs were cut across the board.”
Rader said the many advocates for the bill never faced anyone at the legislature opposed to the program.
“It was all about where it fell on the priority list,” he said.
The bill would have provided 15 cents per lunch and 7 cents per breakfast served in Oregon public schools to incorporate Oregon agricultural products into school meals. In addition, the $22.6 million in total funding called for in the bill would have provided grants to increase school gardens. It also would have likely created an estimated 477 jobs.
An Ecotrust study earlier this year based on 91 schools in Portland and Gervais school districts estimated that $66,000 in grant funding for Farm to School programs catalyzed $226,000 in local purchasing. The benefits also include encouraging healthy eating habits and the education school kids get about local produce and the food stream.
“Farm to school and school gardens is a movement that’s going ahead without the state legislation,” said Rader, who pointed to excellent programs at Bend-La Pine and Eugene school districts. “The state funding is a key component, however, so we’ll definitely be going back to the legislature.”
Despite the tough budget year, Rader said the bill was still very close to passing up until the last week of the session.
“I feel confident that we can get it in the future,” Rader said.
For school districts looking for grant funding or assistance in a Farm to School program, contact Ecotrust through their website.
