Farm to School Bill Advances

A bill to expand farm to school programs in Colorado initially cleared the state house on Tuesday. But as Bente Birkeland reports, it still faces objections from some lawmakers who call it unnecessary.

Farm to School Bill Advances kgnu

House bill 1088 would set up grants to help farms and ranches meet federal safety standards to they could sell their locally produced food to schools.

“This program boosts our economy, it creates jobs, and we have schools right now who want to buy more local food from our farmers and the supply chain does not exist,” said bill sponsor Representative Faith Winter (D-Westminster).

While many school districts currently buy food from local farms, Winter said some want to do it more frequently and with greater consistency, and other schools aren’t using local farms at all.

“This bill is not about promoting farmers, this bill is about promoting healthy choice[s] in eating,” said Representative Rhonda Fields (D- Aurora). “What it does is integrates what happens in the farms and they bring it to our schools. I represent a community that has food deserts. We don’t have access sometimes to fresh fruits and groceries.”

But several Republicans – including Representative Paul Lundeen of Monument – have concerns about the bill’s cost. It would fund about a million dollars in grants each year for the next five years. Lundeen said farm to school programs would expand naturally without government interference.

“If we’re going to spend public dollars, I would spend them on education, I wouldn’t spend them on farmers who are actually already doing what this bill seeks to do,” said Lundeen.

Others said there are better ways to tackle the problem of childhood obesity, and don’t believe there’s evidence the program promotes healthier eating habits.

“The dollars would be better spent on restoring physical education to the students to get them physically fit,” said Representative Jim Wilson (R- Salida).

The measure still needs a final vote in the House. It’s not clear if it has enough votes to clear the Republican controlled Senate.