Maine Food Policy News
#13 May 10, 2021
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Published weekly with support from
an Elmina B. Sewall Foundation grant to Maine Farm to Institution
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The Food Policy Work Group relies on many advocacy partners to help us learn about high priority Legislative initiatives. We urge you to tune in to these groups.
Sign up Here for Advocacy Alerts from Key Policy Organizations
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Committee Schedules 5/10 - 5/21
Note: Each Bill listed has 3 clickable links:
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LD # link takes you to PDF text for the Bill
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Committee links takes you to Committee Page which includes:
- Hearings & Work Sessions
- links to testimony documents
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YouTube links takes you to hearings & Work Sessions, both live and earlier sessions.
Abbreviations used for Committees:
Key Bills
LD 1541 An Act To Support and Improve Municipal Recycling Programs and Save Taxpayer Money Sponsored by Rep. Grohoski Hearing May 10, 9am ENR Committee. ENR YouTube High priority Bill for NRCM (Natural Resource Council of Maine). 1541 Fact sheet
LD 1565 An Act To Strengthen Maine's Agriculture, Food and Forest Economy Sponsored by Rep. Talbot Ross Work Session May 11, 9:15am AFC Committee. ACF YouTube
LD 1679 An Act To Address Student Hunger through a Universal Free School Meals Program, sponsor Pres. Troy Jackson, Joint Committee on EDU Committee. The State of Maine would contribute funding to cover the cost of paid students in the School Breakfast and National School Lunch programs, so that all students in Maine can access school meal programs without cost. EDU YouTube High priority Bill for Full Plates, Full Potential and the Farm to School movement. Fact Sheet
Recycling, Pesticide Bills
LD 1541 An Act To Support and Improve Municipal Recycling Programs and Save Taxpayer Money Sponsored by Rep. Grohoski Hearing May 10, 9am ENR Committee. ENR YouTube High priority Bill for NRCM (Natural Resource Council of Maine). 1541 Factsheet
LD 1467 An Act To Promote a Circular Economy through Increased Post-consumer Recycled Plastic Content in Plastic Beverage Containers, sponsored by Rep. Doudera Work Session May 12, 10am ENR Committee. ENR YouTube
LD 1505 An Act to Restrict the Use of Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Firefighting Foam, sponsored by Rep Gramlich Work Session May 12, 10am in the ENR Committee. ENR YouTube
LD 1545 An Act Regarding Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Reductions Associated with Significant Development Projects Sponsored by Rep. Fay Work Session May 14, 10am ENR Committee. ENR YouTube
LD 1600 An Act To Investigate Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance Contamination of Land and Groundwater Sponsored by Rep. Gramlich, Work Session May 12, 10am ENR Committee. ENR YouTube
LD1639 An Act To Protect the Health and Welfare of Maine Communities and Reduce Harmful Solid Waste Sponsored by Sen Carney. Hearing May 17, 9am ENR Committee. ENR YouTube
Climate Bills
LD 1429 An Act To Implement the Most Time-sensitive Recommendations of the Maine Climate Council, sponsored by Rep. Dunphy, Hearing May 17, 9am ENR Committee. ENR YouTube
LD1659 An Act To Create the Maine Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator Sponsored by Rep Zeigler Hearing May 12, 10am EUT Committee. EUT YouTube
Food and Ag Bills
LD 1565 An Act To Strengthen Maine's Agriculture, Food and Forest Economy Sponsored by Rep. Talbot Ross Work Session May 11, 9:15am AFC Committee. ACF YouTube
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Federal Food and Agriculture Bills
The News is beginning to expand coverage of national legislation. Bills listed below have links to PDFs for each.
Key Federal Farm to School Bills:
Farm to School Act of 2021 (S. 1328, H.R. 1768)
Original Cosponsors: Sen. Leahy (D-VT), Sen. Tillis (R-NC), Sen. Brown (D-OH), and Sen. Collins (R-ME); Del. Plaskett (D-VI), Rep. Fortenberry (R-NE), and Rep. Adams (D-NC)
This bill triples funding for the USDA Farm to School Grant Program, prioritizing applications that engage beginning, veteran, and socially disadvantaged farmers and serve racially diverse and high-need student populations.
The popular Farm to School Grant Program has empowered thousands of children to learn about where their food comes from. Every dollar spent on local food generates up to an additional $2.16 in economic activity, indicating school districts’ local food purchases can lead to over $1 billion in local economic activity, according to the 2015 USDA Farm to School Census.
Kids Eat Local Act of 2021 (S. 1401, H.R. 2896)
Original Cosponsors: Sen. Brown (D-OH), Sen. Collins (R-ME); Rep Pingree (D-ME), Rep. Fortenberry (R-ME), Rep. Adams (D-NC), Rep. Harder (D-CA)
The Kids Eat Local Act will support farm to school efforts by making it easier for schools to source locally grown, locally raised and locally caught food and farm products for their meal programs.
Currently, schools are not able to specifically ask for “local” products in their food procurement requests. A geographic preference option is available, but many school food service providers find it burdensome and confusing to implement.
School Food Modernization Act of 2021 (S. 876)
Original Cosponsors: Sen. Collins (R-ME), Sen. Smith (D-MN)
This bill authorizes funding for schools to purchase equipment, improve kitchen infrastructure, and train staff to make it easier for schools to deliver healthy and fresh foods.
Even before the pandemic, the majority of schools report needing school kitchen infrastructure improvements. To ensure that schools can prepare healthy, nutritious and fresh foods, schools need additional funding to modernize their kitchen infrastructure.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that it is seeking comments on a Department-wide effort to improve and reimagine the supply chains for the production, processing and distribution of agricultural commodities and food products.
In addition to asking about the agricultural supply chain, USDA is interested in comments about how to target pandemic-related stimulus relief programs and spending authorized by Congress in the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) and American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) toward long term, systemic change that results in food supply chain resiliency. In particular, the request for comment seeks input on—
- bolstering local and regional food systems,
- developing new market opportunities (including for value-added agriculture and products),
- creating fairer and more competitive markets,
- meeting the needs of the agricultural workforce,
- supporting and promoting consumers’ nutrition security, particularly for low-income populations,
- addressing the needs of socially disadvantaged and small to mid-sized producers, and
- advancing efforts in other ways to transform the food system.
S. 1421 Food and Nutrition Education in Schools Act introduced by Senators Cory Booker and John Cornyn features:
- Provides funding for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish a pilot grant program to create food and nutrition education positions in a range of rural, urban, and tribal schools.
- Food and nutrition educators will implement evidence-based practices proven to maximize students’ consumption—and enjoyment—of healthy meals.
- Priority will be given to schools in neighborhoods with high rates of childhood diet-related illnesses and schools in which 40 percent or more of students qualify for free or reduced price meals.
HR 7554, American Farmers, Food Banks, and Families Act
HR 5861: Agricullture Resilience Act.
HR 5845: Break Free from Plastic Pollutions Act
Rep. Alma Adams (D-NC-12) introduced the Local and Regional Farmer and Market Support Act (H.R. 8096), and it will help meet the needs of farmers who've been left out during the pandemic. Here are THREE big reasons to support this bill:
- It offers direct support for producers selling into local and regional markets based on the losses they've experienced.
- It prioritizes funding for BIPOC farmers and low-income communities of color and includes robust outreach, technical assistance, and data collection to ensure that aid is distributed equitably.
- It provides emergency response grants for farmers markets and local food enterprises to allow those operations to adapt to new market conditions, implement public health and safety protections, and further support communities experiencing food insecurity.
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The Maine Food Policy Website is now live. It includes an archive of all Newsletters, along with complete listings of all Bills we are tracking sorted by topics, tips on Taking Action and more. We continue to build this site as a toolbox for Food Justice and Democracy.
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For more information, contact Ken Morse, Coordinator of the Maine Food Policy Work Group
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The Maine Food Policy Work Group is a collaboration of organizations and people working to promote good food policies in Maine. It was started by Maine Farm to Institution (MEFTI), with support from the Elmina B. Sewall Foundation. |
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Healthy Communities of the Capital Area (HCCA) is the fiscal and staffing home of the Maine Food Policy Work Group. HCCA's mission is to convene and support people, organizations, and communities to collaborate on quality of life and public health issues.
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