Sen. Vitelli bill would put more local food in Maine schools

Legislation from Sen. Eloise Vitelli, D-Arrowsic, to increase the amount of local food in Maine schools was the subject of a public hearing before the Legislature’s Education and Cultural Affairs Committee on Friday.

The bill — LD 454 “An Act To Encourage the Purchase of Local Produce for Public Schools” — provides the funding and staffing needed to give local schools and nutrition directors the resources they need to purchase and serve locally grown foods.

“Bringing more local food into schools is good for our farmers and our local economy, providing markets for local growers and producers, reducing transportation costs, and keeping more of our food dollars in our own communities,” said Sen. Vitelli. “It is also good for our kids: It exposes them to a variety of new, fresh, healthy, nutritious food; connects them to local farmers and expands their understanding of where food comes from before it hits their plate.”

LD 454 builds on a law passed by Sen. Vitelli in 2018 that established modest goals in the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry for the purchase and sale of local foods by public institutions. Public schools, however, were not included.

“Our School Nutrition Directors are already stretched beyond capacity,” said Justin Alfond of Full Plates Full Potential, an organization working to end child hunger in Maine. “The coordinator position is essential to making this program work. Let’s make sure we give farmers selling and school nutrition directors purchasing the support they deserve.”

Local food is also healthier food, particularly for children’s growing bodies.

“When food, particularly fresh produce, is consumed within a short distance from the location at which it was produced, and a short time from harvest, that produce contains a higher nutrient density than similar foods from far away,” said Ryan Parker of FoodCorps. “As society has shifted away from local, nutrient dense foods, and toward processed, low nutrient density foods from far away, we’ve had to consume more and more calories to obtain the necessary nutrients. The consumption of more fresh, local, fruits and vegetables is an excellent way to begin reversing this trend.”

The Maine School Boards Association; Maine School Superintendents Association; Maine Farm to School Network; the School Nutrition Directors from Falmouth Public Schools and MSAD 54 in Skowhegan; and a Mount Vernon farmer also testified in favor of LD 454 on Friday. No one spoke in opposition to the bill.

The Education and Cultural Affairs Committee will take an initial vote on LD 454 in the coming weeks.