Action Alert: AB 826 for Governor's Signature

Our friends at the California Food and Justice Coalition have sent us the following news regarding AB 826, the farm-to-school legislation, and have asked for our support in the next phase. Please read on:

AB 826 has passed the California Assembly and has now been sent to Governor Schwarzenegger to be signed into law. By signing this bill he will help California farmers and schools connect so our kids can be eating the healthiest and best tasting local fruits and vegetables available. But we're not sure which way the Governor will go. We need a strong advocacy effort to influence his decision.

Your visits, calls, and letters have been the force behind the bill coming this far. WE NEED YOUR HELP to show Governor Schwarzenegger how much support there is for farm to school.

Please send a letter to the Governor telling him to sign AB 826. View a sample letter at: http://www.foodsecurity.org/california/CA_actionalert.html. Please personalize our sample letter to highlight why farm to school is important to you and how it benefits your school and your community. Get background on the bill at: http://www.foodsecurity.org/california/CA_Issues.html.

Deadline: The Governor has until October 9th to sign or veto the bill. We don’t know when he will act. So we need as many letters as possible to start arriving in his office as soon as possible.

With so many nutrition and school food related bills this year it's important that we keep voicing our support for farm to school so family farmers don’t get left behind. Let the Governor know that farmers, schools, parents, and nutrition advocates want farmers and their communities to be part of the effort to get more healthy and fresh foods into our schools.

In addition to sending letters from your organization, personal letters from farmers, parents, representatives from schools, and STUDENTS! are as important. If your school is not able to write a letter, send one yourself and be sure to mention your involvement with farm to school. A hand-written letter to the Governor is very powerful. If you are part of a committee or task force that is organizing a local farm to school program or is interested in one have everyone at your next meeting write and send their own letter. We need to make sure the Governor hears how much support there is for “healthy kids & healthy farms.�

SAMPLE LETTER
Place on your organization’s letterhead or send a personal letter (fax to 916.445.4633 or email via the Governor's email web site: http://www.govmail.ca.gov).

DATE

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814

RE: Support for AB 826 (Nava)

Dear Governor Schwarzenegger:

On behalf of [your organization's name] here I am writing to express our support for AB 826, the California Farm to School Child Nutrition Improvement Act. We hope that you will support this innovative approach to improving school nutrition and supporting California’s farmers.

We/I support farm to school because … [choose one or more of the following points]:

++ Name your own reason
++ Farm school programs are a win-win for schools and farmers alike. They put the freshest and healthiest fruits and vegetables in our kids school meals, and create a stable market for farmers that are struggling to find markets where they can get a fair price.
++ When schools purchase fruits and vegetables directly from local farms not only do students benefit, but so do farm families, their communities, and the local economy.
++ Connecting with farms allows schools to serve more, tastier fresh fruits and vegetables and creates opportunities for hands-on nutrition education, such as farm and farmers' market tours, gardening and composting programs, and taste testing and cooking demonstrations.

[Highlight one or more of the following points:]
++ AB 826 complements other nutrition bills that you are supporting that get the bad food out of schools (SB 12 and SB 965) and gives them money to purchase fruits and vegetables (SB 281). AB 826 creates opportunities for school food dollars to be spent on fruits and vegetables from local farmers. These bills can work together to create a healthful school food environment for California's children.
Farm to School programs offer kids fresh, ripe, seasonal fruits and vegetables that are bursting with flavor so they learn to like fresh foods at a time when they are developing life-long eating habits.

[Share an experience from your community]

AB 826 provides new opportunities by implementing the Department of Defense (DoD) Farm to School program, which allows schools to purchase local and California grown produce through existing channels. Our hope is that the lessons learned from the farm to school program can be translated to other institutions, such as universities, hospitals, and correctional facilities, all of which purchase through the DoD, in order to increase demand for California produce within the state, and income for our farmers.

Please sign AB 826 into law and support California's farmers feeding California's children.

Sincerely,
[Your Name and Signature]

cc: Assembly Member Pedro Nava, 916.319.2135
California Food and Justice Coalition, 310.822.1440

[Please send a copy to CFJC so we track our support. Fax to 310.822.1440 or email to Heather@foodsecurity.org.]