PORTLAND, Ore. — A trio of bills, which address two important issues at once — adequately funding school lunch programs and bolstering the Oregon agricultural economy — are scheduled for their first hearing by the House Education Innovation Subcommittee from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Tuesday, April 10th in Hearing Room D. The hearing is open to the public.

HB 3476 (Kotek) allocates up to seven cents per school meal served to incorporate Oregon agricultural products. Connecting Oregon agriculture with Oregon schools, HB 3307 (Clem) creates a Farm to School Program within the Oregon Department of Agriculture. These two bills are complemented by HB 3185 (Clem), which awards mini-grants for school gardens and other agriculture and food-based learning.

Testifying tomorrow on behalf of Oregon Farmers Feeding Oregon Kids, a broad coalition of organizations representing the education, health care, agricultural and food processing sectors will be: Deborah Kane, Ecotrust Food & Farms; Kristy Obbink, Food Services Director, Portland Public Schools; Joyce Dougherty, Oregon Department of Education; Dalton Hobbs, Assistant Director, Oregon Department of Agriculture; Peter Truitt, Truitt Brothers, Inc.; David Shonk, Bumblebee Farm; Nelli Williams, Site Coordinator, School Garden Project; Tami Kerr, Executive Director, Ag in the Classroom; and Michelle Markesteyn, Portland State University.

For more information about these bills or to sign up to receive Action Alerts please visit https://ecotrust.org/farmtoschool