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School meal programs are the largest restaurants in town. I can attest to that. As a grower, food educator and FoodCorps partner, I’ve witnessed the effort it takes to feed thousands of students who are hungry and eager to socialize with friends before hitting the books again. It’s no easy endeavor to keep school kitchens running and our students nourished; it requires financial resources while battling supply chain challenges made harder by the pandemic. Today, the Connecticut General Assembly has the opportunity to support this critical mission to feed our children.
A new state bill, HB 6842, would fill the funding and supply chain gap while allowing more opportunities for local farmers to bring their vegetables to the cafeteria table. This crucial legislation would strengthen Connecticut’s farm-to-school pipeline, securing better relationships, opportunities and outcomes for farmers, schools and children alike.
The proposed legislation supports a Connecticut Local Food for Schools Incentive Program and funds for the CT Grown for CT Kids Grant Program, increasing opportunities for local growers and farmers to work with schools and enabling more students to learn about food in their classrooms and cafeterias. As a result, more Connecticut students will have access to school meals that are nourishing, local, and culturally relevant. The effort will also expand our local economy and create more community connections with local growers and farmers.
Over the last five years, my business Micro2life has supplied over two tons of locally grown produce to the Hartford Public Schools Food & Child Nutrition Services. We aim to grow and provide vegetables like collard greens, bok choy, kale, and calabaza pumpkin, all whole foods that when prepared, become culturally relevant foods that reinforce and validate the student’s home life and shared human experience.
The Connecticut Farm-to-School initiative is what makes my business relationship of farming and delivering to public schools possible. Local farmers like myself can provide students with fresh fruits and vegetables, but also the opportunity to show them who is growing their food, to taste test, and to learn about each garden jewel’s nutrition and history.
Fostering a relationship between farmers and schools is smart business and a nutritional imperative. Presently, schools do not receive enough federal funds to cover the cost of food, labor, supplies, and equipment while preparing kid-appeasing, healthy, fresh, and culturally relevant meals. Preliminary results of a University of Connecticut survey of 144 Connecticut school districts found that 97 percent of all respondents are interested in trying to create new menu items that incorporate local, Connecticut-grown items. Cost was cited as a top barrier of being able to purchase more local food.
The local food incentive program would help decrease the cost barrier and facilitate new local items in school meals programs. Fifteen others states including Maine, Vermont and New York have local food incentive programs with established results. They’ve proven the positive impact on the agricultural economy as well as educational and public health systems.
The passing of HB 6842 will transform opportunities and outcomes for countless stakeholders in our state, from children and families, to district leaders and educators, to community leaders and business owners. We must call on and urge our legislators to pass this bill.
Every child should be nourished, validated, and protected at school, and that vision comes closer with every vote toward this legislation. By establishing the Connecticut Local Food for Schools Incentive Program and funding the CT Grown for CT Kids Grant Program, Connecticut will show its leadership and ensure we feed our children with fresh ingredients, grown by their community. HB 6842 is a win-win investment for our youth, farms, and schools.
Zania Johnson is co-founder of Micro2Life LLC, a FoodCorps alumna and a nutritionist.
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