6.29.2017 Governor Brown signed a state budget Tuesday that sets aside $1.5 million to increase the use of California-grown food in freshly prepared school meals! This win was made possible because of your action and support of SB 782 (Skinner). link
The $1.5 million, negotiated by Senator Skinner, provides the funding to support the goals of SB 782 by establishing a California-Grown Fresh School Meals Fund. The policy and funding was made possible through the 2017-18 School Finance Omnibus bill, AB 99 Section 86. link
We are thrilled that the Legislature and Governor Brown included this provision in the Budget and grateful to Senator Skinner for her strong leadership in this effort. Most of all, we are thankful for all of YOU and your tireless advocacy. Thank you also to the organizations and individuals that called, emailed, tweeted, and wrote to their representatives in support of a grant program to incentivize public schools to serve more California-grown food in freshly prepared school meals.
The funds set aside by the State Budget Act of 2017-18 will remain available for use over the next three years. Because these funds were secured in the budget, SB 782 is being put on hold as a two-year bill in order to determine the best way to provide a framework for improving procurement of school food. Over the next few months we will be working with Senator Skinner, our co-sponsors at NextGen, key partners, and the state agencies that will be implementing the grant program to identify necessary steps to establish a successful grant program and partnership. We will revisit SB 782 in the 2018 legislative session.
For more information about SB 782 visit CFPA’s SB 782 page. Link
Questions: Contact Melissa Cannon at 510.433.1122 ext 102, or melissa@cfpa.net
