Proposal Would Get More Local Food In US School Cafeterias

PORTLAND, Maine - Two lawmakers from Maine are introducing legislation to make it easier for schools to procure locally produced foods for children's meals. Democratic Rep. Chellie Pingree and Republican Sen. Susan Collins are sponsoring the Kids Eat Local Act, which both say will support local food systems while providing children with healthy meal choices. They say the proposal will provide schools with more flexibility by allowing them to use "locally grown, locally raised, and locally caught'' in their procurement requests.
 
Pingree says the proposal would carry no cost for the federal government.
 
Another sponsor of the bill is Democratic Rep. Josh Harder of California. Harder says the proposal would "get rid of these useless bureaucratic rules'' that make it difficult to provide local foods in schools.