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| 1 | AN ACT concerning public health.
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| 2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| 3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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| 4 | Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Farm | ||||||
| 5 | Fresh Schools Program Act. | ||||||
| 6 | Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds all of the | ||||||
| 7 | following: | ||||||
| 8 | (1) According to the Centers for Disease Control and | ||||||
| 9 | Prevention, less than 20% of young people eat the | ||||||
| 10 | recommended 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables | ||||||
| 11 | each day. A recent study in the New England Journal of | ||||||
| 12 | Medicine finds that, unless reversed, in the next 50 years | ||||||
| 13 | obesity will shorten life expectancy in the United States | ||||||
| 14 | by 2 to 5 years, exceeding the impact of cancer or heart | ||||||
| 15 | disease. Studies by the Yale University School of Public | ||||||
| 16 | Health have found that, due to obesity and related | ||||||
| 17 | diseases, the current generation of young people may be the | ||||||
| 18 | first in American history whose life expectancy is | ||||||
| 19 | projected to be less than that of their parents. | ||||||
| 20 | (2) Farm-to-school programs link schools with local | ||||||
| 21 | and regional farms in order to provide schools with fresh | ||||||
| 22 | and minimally processed farm commodities for inclusion in | ||||||
| 23 | school meals, vending machines, salad bars, and snacks. | ||||||
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| 1 | These programs also help children develop nutritional | ||||||
| 2 | awareness and healthy eating habits. | ||||||
| 3 | (3) In addition to procuring farm fresh foods for | ||||||
| 4 | school food offerings, farm-to-school programs often | ||||||
| 5 | include activities that provide pupils with hands-on | ||||||
| 6 | learning opportunities, such as farm visits, cooking | ||||||
| 7 | demonstrations, and school gardening and composting | ||||||
| 8 | programs, and integrate nutritional and agricultural | ||||||
| 9 | education into school curricula. | ||||||
| 10 | (4) It is in the interest of this State to promote | ||||||
| 11 | farm-to-school programs that emphasize the purchase of | ||||||
| 12 | farm fresh foods by schools in order to improve child | ||||||
| 13 | nutrition and strengthen local and regional farm | ||||||
| 14 | economies. | ||||||
| 15 | Section 10. Farm Fresh Schools Program. The Department of | ||||||
| 16 | Agriculture, in cooperation with the State Board of Education | ||||||
| 17 | and the Department of Public Health, shall create the Farm | ||||||
| 18 | Fresh Schools Program. The intent of the Program is to reduce | ||||||
| 19 | obesity and improve nutrition and public health, as well as | ||||||
| 20 | strengthen local agricultural economies by increasing access | ||||||
| 21 | to and promoting the consumption of locally grown fruits and | ||||||
| 22 | vegetables in schools and increasing physical activities and | ||||||
| 23 | programs that promote pupil wellness. | ||||||
| 24 | Section 15. Grants. | ||||||
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| 1 | (a) The Department of Agriculture and the State Board of | ||||||
| 2 | Education shall jointly administer a process to review grant | ||||||
| 3 | proposals and award grants on a competitive basis to eligible | ||||||
| 4 | applicants to implement the Farm Fresh Schools Program. | ||||||
| 5 | (b) The first 6 grants awarded pursuant to the Farm Fresh | ||||||
| 6 | Schools Program shall be awarded in 6 different counties, | ||||||
| 7 | including 3 urban counties and 3 rural counties with a | ||||||
| 8 | significant agricultural economy.
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| 9 | Section 20. Farm Fresh Schools Program Fund. The Farm Fresh | ||||||
| 10 | Schools Program Fund is created as a special fund in the State | ||||||
| 11 | treasury. Moneys in the Fund shall be used, subject to | ||||||
| 12 | appropriation, by the Department of Agriculture and the State | ||||||
| 13 | Board of Education for the purposes of this Act. | ||||||
| 14 | Section 25. Rules. The Department of Agriculture, with the | ||||||
| 15 | cooperation of the Department of Public Health and the State | ||||||
| 16 | Board of Education, shall adopt rules for the implementation of | ||||||
| 17 | this Act. | ||||||
| 18 | Section 90. The State Finance Act is amended by adding | ||||||
| 19 | Section 5.719 as follows: | ||||||
| 20 | (30 ILCS 105/5.719 new) | ||||||
| 21 | Sec. 5.719. The Farm Fresh Schools Program Fund.
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