OFFICIAL VIRGINIA FARM-TO-SCHOOL WEEK ESTABLISHED
March 11th, 2010
NEWS RELEASE
Wednesday, March 10, 2010 Contact: Eric Bendfeldt, 540-432-6029
Christopher Carpenter, 540-458-8636
Matt Benson, 540-341-7961
OFFICIAL VIRGINIA FARM-TO-SCHOOL WEEK ESTABLISHED
General Assembly sets the Second Week of November as Virginia Farm-to-School
During the 2010 Virginia General Assembly Session, House Joint Resolution 95 (HJ95), introduced by Delegate Edward Scott representing Culpeper, Madison and Orange County, officially establishing a Virginia Farm-to-School Week was passed with unanimous consent by both the House of Delegates and Senate. Besides establishing a Virginia Farm-to-School Week during the second week of November, HJ95 recognizes the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Virginia Department of Education, Virginia Food System Council, and Virginia Farm-to-School Work Group for their many contributions to help develop, promote, and implement Virginia’s Farm-to-School Program.
“This is a beginning step in changing the quality of school nutrition while providing economic opportunities for our farming community and strengthening farm-to-table connections throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia,” said Christopher Carpenter, Special Projects Coordinator for Washington & Lee University, and Vice-Chair of the Virginia Food System Council.
In 2009, the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Virginia Department of Education and Virginia Farm-to-School Work Group coordinated the first Farm-to-School Week, where all regions of Virginia participated and 36 different locally grown Virginia foods were featured as healthy choices on school menus across the state. School districts including Madison County, Rappahannock County, Harrisonburg City and Goochland County all participated as part of the initial Week and featured school lunches made from local farm products.
“Virginia’s Farm-to-School Program is a true “win-win”. Our students benefit from being served fresh, local food at school. These same schools represent a significant new market opportunity for Virginia farmers. It is my pleasure to bring this resolution before the General Assembly and to call attention to Farm-to-School Week in the Commonwealth,” said Delegate Ed Scott.
In 2007, recognizing the problems associated with childhood obesity and the search to open additional markets for fresh farm products in Virginia, the General Assembly passed Senate Joint Resolution 347, which requested that the Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry and the Secretary of Education establish a similar Farm-to-School Task Force to develop a plan for implementing a Farm-to-School Program in the Commonwealth. Since then, there has been a 300 percent increase in locally grown foods served in public and private schools. Virginia public schools serve 681,505 lunches daily to nourish their students, resulting in more than 122 million lunches served during a 180-day school year. If $0.25 a day per student lunch is devoted to purchasing locally grown Virginia farm products, a total of $170,376 would be generated daily and more than $30.7 million would be reinvested annually in Virginia communities and the economy.
