Legislative and Policy Initiatives

[lu...@charm.net]

Here is the background preparation that I did for a legislative/policy
group meeting that we had in Annapolis two weeks ago. I'm in the
process of doing the notes from that meeting, which I'll then post, as
well. And I talked with Christine Bergmark, who is working on the Food
Policy Council, about coordinating our efforts on legislative
initiatives for the next session.

To: The Policy/Legislative Initiatives Work Group
From: Lucie L. Snodgrass
Re: Discussion points for our first legislative/policy group meeting
Date: June 21, 2011

As a follow up to the May 11 CASA/Future Harvest-sponsored meeting
last month, I have been looking at legislative and policy initiatives
in other states – both at the statewide and local levels- to use as a
starting point for our own consideration in Maryland. A group in
Pennsylvania has been doing much the same thing for their state, and
Brad Heavner from the Environment America Research & Policy Center has
generously shared with me some of their research, and I’ve woven some
of what they learned about other states into this document, as well.
My hope is that we can meet as a group either later this month or
early next month to decide how we’d like to move forward and what
initiatives rise to the top of our priority list.
While 48 states have established Farm to School programs and they
have most often been the impetus for legislative or policy changes at
the state level, legislatures have also established Farm to Food Bank
(Kentucky) and Farm to Prison programs, as well as statutes that
establish food policy councils and even a few that set up paid
positions to run Farm to School Programs in their State Departments of
Agriculture. New York, California, Vermont, Illinois, Pennsylvania
and Washington, in particular, have been leaders on supporting
sustainable local agriculture, and they have enacted some of the most
progressive and far reaching initiatives. We may want to divide those
states among ourselves and each take one state and establish direct
relationships there to glean as much information as we can from their
experiences.
But if some of the larger states have been leaders on local foods,
even small states like Connecticut, which established its Food Council
and Farm to School program in 1997, and West Virginia have tried or
passed some innovative policies to encourage the local food moment. In
Connecticut’s case they certify restaurants that buy more than 20% of
their food locally as “Farm Fresh Restaurants” and they give them
marketing assistance. West Virginia looked at giving income tax
credits to institutions, grocery stores and restaurants that buy a
certain percentage of local food. We can consider any or all of these
ideas, as well as any you’d like to propose or are aware of that I may
not have referenced.
A majority of states have enacted Farm to School legislation that lays
out goals for increasing the amount of locally grown produce that is
bought and served by school systems. To achieve their respective
goals, different states have mandated different measures. Illinois has
the most comprehensive local foods legislation, going far beyond just
a Farm to School Initiative. It aims for 20 percent of foods purchased
by schools and other institutions that receive state funding to be
purchased locally by the year 2020 and it has an office and staff
tasked with overseeing the state’s initiatives. Other states like
Montana address only that institutions should try to incorporate as
much local food into state procurement policies without specifying
that they must do so or what percentage they should try to achieve.
Many states, including Maryland, have established Food Policy councils
that are tasked with providing recommendations to their general
assemblies on how to increase access to markets for local farmers. And
Maryland joins other states in using at least some of their Federal
pass through Specialty Crop Grant money to support proposals from
paying for farmers to receive training and certification to increasing
the number of new or organic farmers
Some of the most significant actions that state and local governments
and general assemblies have undertaken include, with at least one
example:
o Providing technical support and financial assistance to establish
local food hubs (New York State)
o Providing funds for the establishment of new farmers markets and
increased access to local food in urban areas (Pennsylvania, Boston
and New York City)
o Offering tax rebates to farmers converting land to organic (Woodbury
County, Iowa)
o Assisting farmers with certifications required, for example, to use
EBT machines at markets (Boston) or GAP certification (Maryland)
o Offering grants of up to $15,000 to pay for improvements to local
food infrastructures (Vermont)
o Buying development rights to ensure an adequate supply of productive
farmland, especially in proximity to cities (Maryland)
o Putting in place incentives, including tax breaks and marketing
assistance, for restaurants that buy a certain percentage of local
food (Connecticut)
o Passing, with some stipulations, buy local preferences for school
systems and state-funded institutions (Colorado)
o Offering state and local supplements for federal programs like SNAP,
e.g. offering double dollars on coupons used to purchase produce at
farmers markets and incorporating local produce coupons into food
assistance programs (Maryland, Philadelphia)
o Giving financial assistance or tax breaks for farms transitioning to
organic (Pennsylvania)
o Creating Farm to School and Farm to Institution initiatives, some
with specific mandates not just to buy local, but to establish target
percentages of local purchases or to connect institutions directly
with farmers for purchase orders (Illinois)
o Easing zoning restrictions on urban land to allow for gardens on
vacant lots, for example (Detroit)
o Providing new farmer training and financial assistance (New York and
Pennsylvania)
o Establishing dedicated funding sources to pay for Farm to School and
other local food initiatives (D.C.)
o Creating Food Policy councils and new paid positions responsible for
increasing and promoting local and sustainable agriculture (Illinois)
Other ideas that have been considered but have not been implemented
include:
o Mandating fully functioning kitchens in new schools
o Offer tax incentives for new farmers buying land (Connecticut and
New Mexico
o
Overall, any legislation and policy changes that we propose for
Maryland should be guided in some measure by all or some of the
following goals:
• Increase market access and opportunities for family farms
• Support local farmers and the local agricultural economy
• Encourage and incentivize sustainable farming practices, including
farmers transitioning to organic farming
• Strengthen Maryland’s local foods infrastructure, including
transportation, processing and distribution capabilities
• Allocating marketing money to promote locally grown foods
(Minnesota)
• Create a local foods policy infrastructure within State government
that can steer and implement policies to increase access to and the
availability of local foods
• Reduce the impact of traditional farming on the environment by
providing additional financial support for sustainable practices like
buffer zones and cover crops
• Educate consumers about local farming and food systems
• Improve the quality of foods served in school and other
institutional cafeterias
• Increase affordable access to fresh fruits and vegetables in urban,
senior and low income communities
• Improve nutrition and prevent obesity and obesity-related diseases
• Expand institution-community relationships
• Mandate buy local provisions and/or percentages for State-funded
institutions seeking to purchase food supplies
• Provide financial incentives for businesses and institutions to buy
more local food
• Provide financial assistance or incentives to new farmers
• Increase the amount of productive farmland and the number of
farmers
• Mandate dedicated funding sources to increase local food
infrastructure and the consumption of local foods
Comprehensive Legislative Initiatives
Illinois – The Food, Farms and Jobs Act
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp?Name=096-0579&GA=96
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/documents/billdocs/2007-08/Pdf/Bills/House%20Bills/2798-S2.pdf

Farm to School Legislation
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp?Name=095-0145
http://www.agr.state.il.us/marketing/ILOFFTaskForce/Washington%20Farm%20to%20School%20Bill.pdf
http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(psbsuduhds2l5q55q1lzwlmj))/mileg.aspx?page=getObject&objectName=mcl-388-843&highlight=Farm%20AND%20to%20AND%20School
http://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess118_2009-2010/bills/3179.htm
http://www.state.tn.us/sos/acts/105/pub/pc0963.pdf
Buy Local Provisions
http://growmontana.ncat.org/docs/SB0328.pdf
http://www.lrc.ky.gov/Statrev/ACTS2006/0244.pdf
Providing Grants to Strengthen the Purchase of Local Foods
http://www.mlui.org/downloads/VermontFarmtoSchoolACT145.pdf

Establishing a Paid Farm to School Position Within a Department of
Agriculture
http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/Sessions/2009/Bills/House/PDF/H1832v1.pdf

Next Steps:
I suggest that we try to hold a meeting on one of the following
mornings at 9:00 a.m.: June 30, July 1 or July 5. Annapolis may be
the logical meeting spot since several people are there anyhow and
it’s convenient for most others. Please let me know whether any of
those dates work for you. In preparation for the meeting, please go to
the links in this document and review some of the policies that have
been passed. At www.farmtoschool.org they have more information on
what the individual states have done in that area specifically. Also
please be ready to prioritize the initiatives that you think should
take precedence, e.g. funding the food hub, construction of new
kitchens in schools, creating a grants program , etc.
Thanks.