ACTION ALERT: Support HB 642 | Farm to School Grant Act
HB642 supports healthy Montana kids, strong communities, and vibrant agriculture by creating a pilot Farm to School Grant program, incentivizing local purchases.
The bill will be heard in the House Education committee on March 24th at 3pm in room 137. Please urge your legislator to support HB642.
How to Take Action
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Find your legislator: https://leg.mt.gov/legislator-lookup/
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Message your legislator or the committee: https://leg.mt.gov/web-messaging/
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Make your voice heard by providing virtual, in-person, or written testimony to the House Education committee on March 24th at 3pm in room 137. Request to testify virtually and submit supporting documentation by 12PM March 23rd here: https://leg.mt.gov/public-testimony/
If you are planning on providing in-person or virtual testimony please let us know by contacting us at coalition@growmt.org so we can coordinate our efforts.
The Farm to School Grant has the potential to:
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Spur economic growth. Montana schools serve 19 million meals per year, providing an excellent opportunity for farmers, ranchers, and food businesses to sell their products to schools and thus to have a steady market opportunity. Each dollar spent on local foods creates up to $2.16 in additional local economic activity.
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Enhance kids’ health. Montana children will have access to healthy, fresh foods in schools by providing needed funding incentives to K-12 schools to purchase, promote, and educate about Montana grown and raised foods. After participating in Montana Harvest of the Month, children increased their acceptance of the Harvest of the Month foods. Research indicates farm to school programs can increase children’s consumption of healthy foods, especially fruits and vegetables. Farm to school programs improve school meal quality. 1 in 6 Montana children struggle with hunger and need high-quality, healthy foods in school.
- Promote Montana agriculture. Improve Montanans’ knowledge and attitudes toward agriculture, food, nutrition, and environment. This can lead to increased access of healthy, local foods and improved food security.
Farm to school is a win-win-win!
