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An Act To Establish the Maine Farm and Fish to School Program
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  7 MRSA §212, sub-§2-A  is enacted to read:
 
2-A.  Minimally processed.     "Minimally processed" means, with respect to food items, processed only by washing, cleaning, trimming, drying, sorting, freezing or packaging or by a combination of those activities.
Sec. 2. 7 MRSA §213, as amended by PL 2005, c. 382, Pt. C, §1, is further amended by adding after the first paragraph a new paragraph to read:
Beginning with the 2015-2016 school year, each school district shall expend a minimum of 10% of total school food purchases on purchases from Maine food producers. Beginning with the 2020-2021 school year, each school district shall expend a minimum of 20% of total school food purchases on purchases from Maine food producers. Beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, each school district shall expend a minimum of 30% of total school food purchases on purchases from Maine food producers.
Sec. 3.  7 MRSA §215-A  is enacted to read:
§ 215-A. Maine Farm and Fish to School Program
 
1.  Program established.     The Maine Farm and Fish to School Program, referred to in this section as "the program," is established within the department to promote, market and facilitate the sale of food grown or raised and fish raised or caught by Maine food producers to primary and secondary schools and postsecondary educational institutions. The commissioner shall administer the program in consultation with the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services, Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. For the purposes of this section, "departments" means the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources, the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services, Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
 
2.  Program objectives.     To implement the program, the departments shall share information and work collaboratively with the Maine Food Policy Council established under section 216 and the Maine Agriculture in the Classroom Council established under section 242 to:
 
A.  Develop, implement and support food procurement strategies for schools that recognize the benefits of, and result in, increased purchasing from Maine food producers;
 
B.  Provide or coordinate technical assistance and training to school personnel as needed to facilitate meal preparation using whole, fresh and minimally processed foods from Maine food producers;
 
C.  Connect Maine food producers with state and local purchasers and maintain an interactive website created for this purpose; and
 
D.  Maximize funding received under the National School Lunch Program under 7 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 210 (2007) and the federal School Breakfast Program under 7 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 220 (2007).
 
3.  Farm and Fish to School Fund established.     The Farm and Fish to School Fund, referred to in this section as "the fund," is established within the department. The commissioner may accept funds from public and private sources for deposit in the fund. The fund must be held separate and apart from all other money, funds and accounts. Any balance remaining in the fund at the end of the fiscal year does not lapse and must be carried forward to the next fiscal year. The fund may be used:
 
A.  To support activities of the departments to advance program objectives under subsection 2;
 
B.  To contract for services to advance program objectives under subsection 2; and
 
C.  To fund planning and implementation grants to schools and Maine food producers under subsection 4.
 
4.  Grants.     The Department of Education shall award grants from the fund to school districts to support nutrition education programs and purchases from Maine food producers for school lunch and breakfast programs. The Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources shall award grants to Maine food producers to support the aggregation, packaging, storage and transportation of their products to school districts.
Sec. 4. 20-A MRSA §6602, sub-§12, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 447, §1, is amended to read:
 
12. Local Food Procurement Fund.   The Local ProduceFood Procurement Fund is established within the Department of Education. The fund is authorized to receive revenue from public and private sources. The fund must be held separate and apart from all other money, funds and accounts. Any balance remaining in the fund at the end of the fiscal year must be carried forward to the next fiscal year. The fund must be used to match $1 for every $3 a school administrative unit pays for produce, meat, fish, eggs, dairy products or minimally processed foods purchased directly from a farmer or a farmers' cooperative or a fisherman or a fishermen's cooperative in the State, to a maximum state contribution of $1,000. A school administrative unit shall provide the department with an invoice each month that funding is sought. At the end of the fiscal year, the school administrative unit mayshall provide the department with receipts documenting purchases pursuant to this subsection during that year. For purposes of this subsection, "minimally processed" means only the washing, cleaning, trimming, drying, sorting, freezing and packaging of food items or a combination of those activities. Reimbursement or partial reimbursement to school administrative units may only be made up to the amount available in the fund. Failure to reimburse does not constitute an obligation on behalf of the State to a school administrative unit.
Sec. 5. Departments to work toward full implementation of recommendations to strengthen farm-to-school efforts. The Commissioner of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources, the Commissioner of Education and the Commissioner of Health and Human Services shall review the report submitted to the Joint Standing Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, the Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs and the Joint Standing Committee on Health and Human Services on February 5, 2010 in response to Resolve 2009, chapter 106. The commissioners shall determine actions not yet taken to implement the recommendations in that report, the statutory requirements of this Act and local wellness policies in compliance with the United States Child Nutrition WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004, Public Law 108-265, Section 204, adopted June 30, 2004.
No later than January 4, 2012, the commissioners shall report to the Joint Standing Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, the Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs and the Joint Standing Committee on Health and Human Services with a list prioritizing actions necessary to advance the State’s food policy established in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 7, chapter 8-A and this Act. The commissioners within their existing authority shall adopt or revise rules and agency policies to support the State's food policy, the Maine Food Policy Council established in Title 7, section 216 and the Maine Agriculture in the Classroom Council established in Title 7, section 242. The commissioners shall prepare and submit any legislation and request all resources necessary to fully implement the State's food policy.
 
SUMMARY
This bill establishes the Maine Farm and Fish to School Program to increase the purchasing by schools of food raised, grown or harvested by Maine farmers and fishermen. It establishes a fund to implement the program. It establishes a minimum percentage of school food budgets to be spent on food purchased from Maine producers and increases that percentage in 3 steps to 30% in the 2025-2026 school year. It revises the Local Produce Fund in the Department of Education to include meat and fish, removes the maximum contribution of the State set in statute and renames it the Local Food Procurement Fund.
The bill requires the Commissioner of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources, the Commissioner of Education and the Commissioner of Health and Human Services to determine actions needed to fully implement the State’s food policy and to take steps and request resources to do so.