| HB 2800, the Oregon Farm-to-School and School Garden bill, is currently making its way through the Oregon House of Representatives. Oregon is currently one of only a handful of states that does not allocate any state money to school food programs. This bill would change that via reallocation of some state lottery proceeds, and will also help fund agricultural education efforts and school gardens throughout our state. It is especially critical that this bill pass now, to build upon the success of current farm-to-school pilot programs at Portland Public Schools and in the Gervais school district.
Deborah Kane, vice president of Ecotrust's Food and Farms program, has an opinion piece in support of HB 2800 running in papers throughout Oregon -
For every $1 we spend on Oregon products, another $.87 continues to cycle throughout the Oregon economy. Beyond supporting the agricultural sector, when we invest in school food we create jobs and support the Oregon economy overall. School food is a "fork ready" project if ever there was one; that's good news in these difficult economic times.
Equity issues have to be considered as well. In Oregon, 46 percent of the children who eat school food do so as recipients of either free or reduced price meals. As the recession deepens, this number is expected to rise as more and more economically challenged families turn to the school meal program to help keep food in their children's bellies. Don't these children deserve the very best Oregon has to offer?
My Oregon State Rep, Jules Bailey, is a co-sponsor of the bill, so I'll focus my energy on contacting the key legislators mentioned here. If you're also here in Oregon (or hell, anywhere - this is a good thing for everybody in America), please consider taking a moment to take action as well. We only have six days left until this year's state legislative session ends. |
