Leahy And Specter Introduce

Farm-To-Cafeteria Plan

WASHINGTON (Fri., Oct. 17) – Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) Friday introduced legislation to help children understand the benefits of healthy eating by bringing local farm products to school cafeterias.

The Farm-To-Cafeteria Projects Act of 2003 would charter a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant program to help schools connect children with local farms by bringing fresh local foods to their cafeterias and by implementing hands-on nutrition education programs.  Under the program, schools or non-profit groups would be eligible to apply for grants of up to $100,000 to buy local foods and the equipment needed to store and prepare them, and to offer any necessary training to cafeteria workers and other staff. 

Leahy and Specter intend their bill to combat the nation’s obesity crisis by strengthening community partnerships among schools, farmers, parents and other nutrition-minded community members to help school children understand how food is grown, produced and delivered to their lunch trays.

Leahy points to the value of similar efforts underway in Vermont.  The Vermont Food Education Every Day (FEED) Program, a partnership between Shelburne Farms, Food Works, and the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont has successfully implemented pilot farm-to-cafeteria programs in several Vermont communities, including Burlington, Jay, Starksboro, Waitsfield and Milton. 

“Forging direct links between farms and schools makes good sense for students and farmers,” said Leahy, a senior member of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee.  “Knowledge is one of the foundations of good nutrition.  This is a practical way for students to learn by seeing and learn by doing, with better nutrition as a dividend.  Our kids have easy access to snacks from hallway vending machines.  Making healthy choices more readily available will give them some better options.”

Earlier this year, Leahy also included the Farm-To-Cafeteria Projects legislation as part of his broader Child Nutrition Initiatives Act of 2003, a package of initiatives Leahy is working to include during next year’s reauthorization of federal child nutrition programs.    Leahy and Specter introduced the initiative as a separate bill Friday during National School Lunch Week.