Scott Proposes Initiative To Help Farmers

By Stephanie Rice

Virginia students could soon be eating more locally grown food, helping state farmers turn bigger profits.

A House joint resolution proposed by Del. Ed Scott, R-Madison, would designate the second full week in November as Virginia Farm-to-School week. Delegates passed the resolution Jan. 21.

More than half of Virginia’s schools participated in the program’s first week in 2009. Schools were encouraged to buy local food and educate students about the process. The program is meant to provide nutritional benefits to students as well as economic growth to local farmers.

Scott said he presented the resolution because he wanted to put the information out to the public without forcing any schools to participate in the long term. He said his goal was to show the benefits to students, schools and farmers, identify best practices and create more acceptance of the program. A Senate subcommittee is now hearing the resolution.

Christopher Carpenter, special projects coordinator at Washington and Lee University, worked with Scott in starting the resolution after creating a similar program at Washington and Lee. Carpenter said that if 25 cents a day per K-12 student lunch were spent on locally grown food, $30.7 million would be reinvested in Virginia’s economy.

Carpenter started the program at Washington and Lee about three years ago and changed the percentage of locally grown food purchased by the school’s main facility from 0 to 32.

The Virginia Food System Council helped create the program and works to implement it in schools. Carpenter said he and the committee wrote the basis for the resolution.

One frequent concern about the program is that locally grown food is more expensive. Carpenter said that was true in some cases, but could be offset by buying seasonal produce, such as apples, which is less expensive.

Carpenter said that for Washington and Lee, the average 100-count case of apples bought from Washington state cost $34 to $48, while Virginia apples cost $17 to $21. This offsets the cost of beef, which is about $1 per pound out of state and $2.50 locally.