| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to school food service programs; amending |
| 3 | s. 1006.06, F.S.; creating the Florida Farm Fresh Schools |
| 4 | Program within the Department of Education; requiring the |
| 5 | program to comply with regulations of the National School |
| 6 | Lunch Program and meet specified requirements; requiring |
| 7 | the department to work with the Department of Agriculture |
| 8 | and Consumer Services to develop policies that encourage |
| 9 | school districts to buy fresh and local food and select |
| 10 | foods with maximum nutritional content; requiring the |
| 11 | department, in collaboration with the Department of |
| 12 | Agriculture and Consumer Services, to provide outreach |
| 13 | services regarding the benefits of fresh food products |
| 14 | from this state; providing an effective date. |
| 15 |
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| 16 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 17 |
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| 18 | Section 1. Subsection (6) is added to section 1006.06, |
| 19 | Florida Statutes, to read: |
| 20 | 1006.06 School food service programs.- |
| 21 | (6) The Legislature, recognizing that school children need |
| 22 | nutritious food not only for healthy physical and intellectual |
| 23 | development but also to combat diseases related to poor |
| 24 | nutrition and obesity, establishes the Florida Farm Fresh |
| 25 | Schools Program within the Department of Education as the lead |
| 26 | agency for the program. The program shall comply with the |
| 27 | regulations of the National School Lunch Program and require: |
| 28 | (a) The Department of Education to work with the |
| 29 | Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to develop |
| 30 | policies pertaining to school food services which encourage: |
| 31 | 1. School districts to buy fresh and high-quality foods |
| 32 | grown in this state when feasible. |
| 33 | 2. Farmers in this state to sell their products to school |
| 34 | districts and schools. |
| 35 | 3. School districts and schools to demonstrate a |
| 36 | preference for competitively priced organic food products. |
| 37 | (b) School districts and schools to make reasonable |
| 38 | efforts to select foods based on a preference for those that |
| 39 | have maximum nutritional content. |
| 40 | (c) The Department of Education, in collaboration with the |
| 41 | Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, to provide |
| 42 | outreach, guidance, and training to school districts, schools, |
| 43 | school food service directors, parent and teacher organizations, |
| 44 | and students about the benefits of fresh food products from |
| 45 | farms in this state. |
| 46 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010. |