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Oregon Farm to School Bill Alive but “Unlikely”

By: NWHF Staff | Posted on: June 3rd, 2011 | Share:
Categories: Education • Policies & Laws • Food & Nutrition • Public Health

CHP / NWHF Photo Contest Entry by Grace Williams, Age 13

As the 2011 Oregon legislative session winds down, state policy makers are still considering a bill (HB 2800) that would use $2 million from state lottery revenues to encourage schools to buy Oregon food products and promote school garden projects.  This farm-to-school bill is currently being considered by the Joint Ways and Means Committee, where legislative funding decisions are being made.  Marah Hall, campaign manager at Upstream Public Health, said that the bill has a lot of legislative support, but with the current budget crisis, full funding for Farm to School/School Gardens is unlikely.

Last month, Upstream Public Health completed a Health Impact Assessment of HB 2800.  Jenny Pompilio, a member of the advisory committee for the Health Impact Assessment, wrote an op-ed column for the Oregonian, touting the benefits of the bill.  These benefits include improvements to students’ nutrition and health, and the creation of hundreds of jobs around Oregon.

A Robert Wood Johnson Foundation website posted an interview with Tia Henderson, research coordinator at Upstream Public Health.  Henderson pointed out that, based results of the Health Impact Assessment, “The sponsors of the bill amended the legislation and incorporated most of our policy recommendations into the amended version.”

The Health Impact Assessment of HB 2800 was funded by the Northwest Health Foundation and the Health Impact Project, a collaboration of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Pew Charitable Trusts.