BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 909
Page 1
Date of Hearing: January 19, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 909 (Alejo) - As Amended: January 12, 2012
Policy Committee: Education
Vote:7-4
Agriculture 7-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill establishes the Farm to School (FS) program, which
authorizes a school district to receive an additional $0.05 per
meal served if 80% of the district's expenditure for fresh
produce in the school meal program is derived from California
produce. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the State Department of Education (SDE), if the
school district submits an application for the FS program, to
reimburse the district $0.05 per meal served as part of the
federal school lunch and breakfast programs. Further requires
school districts to expend these funds to purchase California
produce.
2)Requires the Department of Food and Agriculture (DFA) to
consult with SDE to implement this program and do all of the
following to provide assistance to districts: (a) identify the
seasons, sources, and suppliers of California produce, and (b)
help small farmers collaborate with one another to supply the
large quantities of California produce demanded by districts.
3)Requires SDE to develop strategies for school districts,
including forward contracting and negotiating prices, as
specified.
4)Authorizes the State Board of Education to adopt rules and
regulations necessary for implementation of this program.
5)Requires school districts to certify that their funding
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application meets the requirements of this program.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Annual, one-going GF/98 costs likely between $2 million and
$10.1 million to the state's school meal program to provide
$0.05 per meal (in addition to the state's current
reimbursement rate) to school districts.
2)One-time GF costs of approximately $200,000 to the SDE
administrate this program and perform duties specified in the
bill. This bill authorizes SDE to accept public or private
contributions to implement the FS program.
COMMENTS
1)Background . Current law requires school districts to provide
one nutritious free, reduced-price meal to needy students once
each schoolday. Children are served free, reduced-price, or
full-price meals depending on their family income. A student
whose household income is between 130% and 185% of the federal
poverty guidelines is eligible for free or reducedprice meals.
For a household of four during the 201011 school year, an
annual income of $28,665 is 130% of the federal poverty
guidelines.
The federal school breakfast and lunch program costs are
subsidized through federal and state funding so all can
participate. Both the federal and state governments offer a
per-meal reimbursement for breakfast and lunch. According to
SDE, approximately 795.6 million meals were served in 2010-11.
Of this number, 572.3 million were served as part of the
lunch program and 223.3 meals were served in the school
breakfast program. The per meal reimbursement rates for the
2011-12 fiscal year are as follows:
--------------------------------------------
| | Free |Reduced-Pri| Paid |
| | | ce | |
|-----------------+------+-----------+-------|
|School Breakfast | | | |
| | | | |
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|-----------------+------+-----------+-------|
|Federal |$1.51 | $1.21 | $0.27 |
|-----------------+------+-----------+-------|
|State |$0.22 | $0.22 | n/a |
|-----------------+------+-----------+-------|
|School Lunch | | | |
|-----------------+------+-----------+-------|
|Federal (less |$2.77 | $2.37 | $0.26 |
|than 60%)1 |$2.79 | $2.39 | $0.28 |
|Federal (more | | | |
|than 60%)2 | | | |
|-----------------+------+-----------+-------|
|State |$0.22 | $0.22 |n/a |
--------------------------------------------
1School districts that serve less than 60% free,
reduced-price lunches.
2School districts that serve more than 60% free,
reduced-price lunches.
2)Purpose . According to the California Endowment, "Childhood
obesity rates have skyrocketed in California. 31% of
adolescents ages 12 to 17-years-old, and one-in-three
California children ages 9-11 years old, are at risk of or are
already overweight. A combination of poor diet and lack of
physical activity has caused these children to be at greater
risk for the onset of major chronic diseases such as Type 2
diabetes, heart disease and cancer, when reaching adulthood.
Research has indicated that the widespread availability and
relatively low cost of junk food, especially soda, in schools
has contributed significantly to the rise of obesity."
The author states, "�This bill] furthers the fight in the
battle against childhood obesity by providing nutritional
meals to school children. This bill expands the practice and
allows school districts to utilize California's rich
agricultural resources rather than continuing to rely on
importing goods from outside the state."
3)California's Farm to School (CFS) program connects schools
with local farms with the objectives of serving healthy meals
in school cafeterias, improving student nutrition, providing
health and nutrition education opportunities, and supporting
local small farmers. California was one of the first two
states in the nation to establish this program in 1997.
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Under this program, school districts buy and feature farm
fresh foods such as fruits, vegetables, eggs, honey, meat and
beans; incorporate nutrition and agriculture-based curricula;
and provide students experiential learning opportunities
through farm visits, gardening and recycling programs. Farmers
have access to new markets through schools and connect to
their community through local procurement opportunities and
student educational programs.
Since 2008, representatives from SDE, DFA, and the State
Department of Health Services in conjunction with small farmer
advocacy groups, school garden promoters, school food service
directors, and other advocacy organizations have been working
together as part of the California Farm to School Task Force.
The task forces seeks to promote the farm to school model,
increase school and farmer participation in the program, and
enhance support for the CSF program.
Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Rodriguez / APPR. / (916)
319-2081