As the Coordinator of the D.C. Farm to School Network, I’ve had the pleasure of working closely with Councilmember Mary Cheh’s office on a landmark piece of legislation – the Healthy Schools Act. The Act passed through the final Council vote on Tuesday May 4th. It now goes on to the Mayor’s desk for his [...]
Posted in Access
Great news! The Healthy Schools Act passed unanimously in both the Committee on Government Operations and the Environment and the Committee of the Whole on April 19th and April 20th!
Now the entire council has to take a final vote to pass the bill as a law! The final council vote is scheduled for Tuesday, May 4 – we can’t rest until the Act is PASSED and FUNDED!
Please take a moment today to show your support of the Act by calling or emailing the D.C. Council. You can learn more about the act at www.healthyschools.marycheh.com.
Please call and/or email your ward representative, the at-large representatives, and the chairman. You can call (202) 724-8000 to be connected:
Council Chairman Vincent Gray (vgray@dccouncil.us)
Ward 1: Jim Graham: (jgraham@dccouncil.us)
Ward 2: Jack Evans (jevans@dccouncil.us)
Ward 3: Mary Cheh (mcheh@dccouncil.us)
Ward 4: Muriel Bowser (mbowser@dccouncil.us)
Ward 5: Harry Thomas Jr. (hthomas@dccouncil.us)
Ward 6: Tommy Wells (twells@dccouncil.us)
Ward 7: Yvette Alexander (yalexander@dccouncil.us)
Ward 8: Marion Barry (mbarry@dccouncil.us)
At-large Councilmembers:
Kwame Brown (kbrown@dccouncil.us)
Michael Brown (mbrown@dccouncil.us)
David Catania (dcatania@dccouncil.us)
Phil Mendelson (pmendelson@dccouncil.us)
Posted in SchoolsThe public hearing on the Healthy Schools Act on March 26th was well attended, and D.C. City Councilmembers heard an impressive contingent voice their support for the bill. Read some of the wonderful testimony and find more information about the act on Mary Cheh’s site.
Posted in Access
Do you think that farm to school programs that get local foods on school cafeteria trays are important for D.C. kids, local farms, and our community? Please read and sign DC Farm To School’s online petition in support of farm to school in the Healthy Schools Act! It only takes a few seconds.
The Healthy Schools Act covers a wide range of issues – many of which are connected to food access, nutrition, and community food security for D.C. kids. Please find more information about the bill, the most latest full-text version, links to news articles and more at our website.
We’re really excited about the bill, because it creates a farm to school program in the District of Columbia. However, if the Council is serious about creating a farm to school program, they’ll have to make a few changes to the Act, and they’ll have to commit to funding for farm to school in the bill. We have four priority requests:
1) Mandate that schools purchase healthy, local foods whenever possible, and provide financial incentives tied to local purchasing;
2) Provide a central space for processing and storing healthy, local foods for school meals;
3) Require that schools disclose where and how school foods are grown; and
4) Require collaboration among government agencies and community partners to integrate hands-on farm to school education into the cafeteria and classroom (including a mandatory Farm to School Week each year).
It’s not too late to testify (or submit written testimony) in support of the bill or these changes — the public hearing is on Friday! We have secured a room with books and activities for kids (and a television screen with live coverage of the hearing), so you can bring your little ones!
Friday March 26th at 11:00 AM
Room 500 of the John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Ave NW
To sign up to testify or submit testimony, please contact Ms. Aukima Benjamin at (202) 724-8062, or via e-mail at abenjamin@dccouncil.us.
You can read more about our priorities for the Healthy Schools Act on this one-pager, and also on our website at www.dcfarmtoschool.org. Thank you!
Posted in AccessBy Andrea Northup, DC Farm to School Network
Finally, D.C. Public Schools appear to be getting serious about reforming school food.
You wouldn’t know it from Ed Bruske’s recent six-part series detailing the processed and sugar-injected foods currently being served in the city’s schools. But schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee seems to be getting the picture. Two weeks ago she appointed a new director of School Food Services to make some serious changes in school cafeterias across the District. It’s a position that was unfilled since the previous director was fired a year ago.
The new appointee, Jeffrey Mills, comes from the restaurant industry in New York. After doing some contracted work for D.C. Public Schools a year ago, he embraced the idea of school food reform and specifically the Michelle Obama-Alice Waters vision of school gardens and local foods as a way to address children’s health and education issues.
Jeff is working on a strategic plan to transform school meals in the District into a model of healthfulness and sustainability. As best I can tell, he has a green light from Rhee’s office to map out a cost-effective means of getting there.
Posted in AccessCould a centralized storage, processing and distribution kitchen be key to providing wholesome, local produce to the District’s school children?
“Healthy Schools” legislation pending before the D.C. Council would require that city schools use locally grown farm goods in school meals “whenever possible.” With some 60,000 students to be fed on a daily basis, that certainly would represent a boon to the local farm economy. But is it feasible? How can we convince farmers to bring their products into the District? And how can we store vegetables from a growing season that doesn’t exactly coincide with the school year? How can we get these local foods to schools for an affordable price?
Farm to School stakeholders met to discuss with staff for Councilmember Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3), author of the “Healthy Schools” bill, how legislation could encourage farm to school programs in the District, and solve some of the issues facing existing food programs.
Looking for an excuse for a night out this Friday? Look no further! On January 22nd you can support locally-owned restaurants, the sustainable local food economy, and Washington, DC kids! The DC Farm to School Network’s Local Restaurants for Local Kids fundraiser is happening at some of the best restaurants in the District.
Several local food and drink hot spots are generously donating a portion of their proceeds to the DC Farm to School Network this Friday. The DC Farm to School Network is an organization that works to bring healthy, local produce into DC public school cafeterias. By simply enjoying a delicious snack, cocktail, or dinner at one of the great participating restaurants, you will help to improve access to healthy, tasty and local foods in D.C. schools! See below for listings, or at the Facebook page.
