Title
To recognize October as National Farm to School Month in the City of Columbus - and to encourage Columbus residents and businesses to partner with Columbus City Schools in the month long effort to purchase foods that are grown, raised, and processed within the State of Ohio
Body
WHEREAS, In 2010, the United States Congress designated October as National Farm to School Month to demonstrate the importance of farm to school programs as a way to encourage child nutrition, to stimulate local food economies, and to teach children about the origins of food - moreover Agriculture is Ohio’s number one industry, contributing $105 billion to the state’s economy; and
WHEREAS, the City of Columbus has come to recognize that it is vital for children and adults to consume the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables each day to prevent obesity and related chronic illnesses - a practice which also strengthens the effort to provide support for fruit and vegetables that are grown locally in schools; and
WHEREAS, in November of 2016, Columbus City Council adopted the Columbus and Franklin County Local Food Action Plan - demonstrating the City’s ongoing commitment to ensuring that Columbus residents have improved access to and education regarding healthy, affordable, and locally grown foods; and
WHEREAS, the Columbus City School (CCS) Farm to School Working Group, which includes Columbus Public Health’s Local Food System Strategies coordinator, have implemented changes which have led to 17% of the Columbus City School District’s 2017 food budget being spent on local food - in fact nearly 3 million apples were purchased from growers in Ohio; and
WHEREAS, Columbus City Schools, the largest school district in the state, has recently installed a fresh produce cutting system that will wash, remove the cores of, treat, and package Ohio grown apples and other Ohio grown produce to increase the consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables in school cafeterias; they’...
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