The following action alert came from Grow Montana and the Community Food Agriculture Coalition of Missoula County.
The National Farm to School Network is a collaborative project of the Center for Food & Justice (CFJ), a division of the Urban & Environmental Policy Institute at Occidental College and the Community Food Security Coalition (CFSC).
We are reaching out for you to take a very specific and IMPORTANT action for Farm to School in the next 3 days.
We learned yesterday that the Senate agriculture committee is going to be marking up the Child Nutrition Act next Wednesday (3/24/10). We have also learned that the current bill includes $25 million in mandatory funding for Farm to School grant programs. It’s great to have Farm to School included, but the level is half of the $50 million that we have been pushing for.
To learn more about Farm to School in Child Nutrition Reauthorization click here.
Following is information about contacting Montana Senator Max Baucus, but please contact your Senator, especially if that person is on the Agriculture committee.
We need you to call Senator Baucus as soon as you can, to urge him to consider becoming a co-sponsor of the bill and to fight for the full $50 million in committee action next Wednesday.
You can reach Senator Baucus at his Washington, DC office at (202) 224-2651.
Calling Senator Baucus’ office is surprisingly easy, but please remember to:
1. State your name and city.
2. Thank him for his past support for Montana Farm to School programs.
3. Ask him to consider becoming a co-sponsor of Senator Leahy’s Growing Farm to School Programs Act (S.3123).
4. Ask him to fight to ensure the full $50 million in funding for Farm to School programs included in the Child Nutrition Act of 2010.Baucus’ staffers are friendly folks, and you might find yourself having a conversation in which the following talking points help:
Farm to School programs educate students about the interconnection of food, nutrition, and agriculture, and encourage them to eat more fruits and vegetables and make healthier food choices.
Nationally, schools report a 3 to 16 percent increase in school meal participation when farm-fresh food is served, thus bringing more funds into the schools.
Schools can provide a substantial and consistent market for local farmers and ranchers, which supports our rural communities and keeps our landscapes in agriculture.
Farm to School programs are popping up in Montana’s urban and rural schools, and full funding for this grant program could provide solutions to infrastructure problems like storage, transportation, food preparation, and technical training.
There are over forty school gardens in Montana, and a well funded Farm to School grant program could help to increase this amount and to develop experiential curriculum to turn those gardens into classrooms.
What’s most important is to talk from your own experience. Before you speak about Farm to School, please take a minute to reflect on why you care about Farm to School, and what it would do for your child, school, district, or community.
Please pass this email along to anybody else in Montana who supports Farm to School and who could make a call and help us in these efforts.
