House Resolution 116 - Introduced
PAG LIN
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO.
BY ISENHART, STAED, GASKILL, McCONKEY, LENSING,
MASCHER, THEDE, WINCKLER, STUTSMAN, WOLFE, STECKMAN,
ABDUL=SAMAD, SMITH, PRICHARD, T. TAYLOR, OURTH,
KEARNS, BEARINGER, HEDDENS, FORBES, BROWN=POWERS,
GAINES, KELLEY, COHOON, DUNKEL, OLDSON,
RUNNING=MARQUARDT, WESSEL=KROESCHELL, JACOBY, and
MEYER
1 1 A Resolution encouraging state and local governments
1 2 to increase the direct purchase of nutritious and
1 3 healthy food from local and regional producers,
1 4 including through Iowa's regional food systems,
1 5 and recognizing the United States Congress and
1 6 the United States Department of Agriculture
1 7 for bolstering local and regional food system
1 8 development.
1 9 WHEREAS, Iowa's Regional Food Systems Working Group,
1 10 comprised of 15 geographically based groups covering
1 11 91 Iowa counties, is a network established in 2003 to
1 12 support Iowans who are working together to build more
1 13 resilient food systems; and
1 14 WHEREAS, each regional group convenes multiple
1 15 stakeholders, including farm producers, food
1 16 processors, and other businesses, nonprofit
1 17 organizations, Iowa State University Extension
1 18 and Outreach, the Leopold Center for Sustainable
1 19 Agriculture, resource conservation and development
1 20 organizations, educational institutions, and other
1 21 state and local government entities to support local
1 22 and regional food system development; and
2 1 WHEREAS, in 2011 Iowa Acts, chapter 128, the General
2 2 Assembly created the Local Food and Farm Program and
2 3 the Local Food and Farm Program Fund administered by
2 4 the Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, to
2 5 support the diversification of Iowa agriculture and
2 6 Iowa's economy through the development of integrated
2 7 local food systems to promote the production, sale, and
2 8 consumption of food grown in Iowa; and
2 9 WHEREAS, beginning in 2011, the General Assembly has
2 10 annually appropriated moneys to support the Local Food
2 11 and Farm Program administered under Iowa Code chapter
2 12 267A; and
2 13 WHEREAS, according to a 2014 report published by
2 14 Iowa State University of Science and Technology, Iowa
2 15 farmers responding to a survey reported a more than 23
2 16 percent year=over=year increase in food sales through
2 17 direct=to=consumer transactions such as farmers'
2 18 markets and community=supported agriculture, as well
2 19 as through wholesalers and large=volume institutional
2 20 buyers such as grocery stores, restaurants, schools,
2 21 and hospitals; and
2 22 WHEREAS, according to a 2014 report published
2 23 by Iowa State University of Science and Technology,
2 24 larger=scale buyers of local foods responding to a
2 25 survey reported increased purchases in local food
2 26 sales totaling more than $22 million in 2012=2013,
2 27 with 80 percent of those annual sales made to just 37
2 28 buyers, for an average of almost $250,000 in local food
2 29 purchases per buyer per year; and
2 30 WHEREAS, according to a 2016 report published by
3 1 the Union of Concerned Scientists, if all intermediate
3 2 and institutional buyers in Iowa purchased local food
3 3 at the same level as survey respondents, more than $3
3 4 billion in new economic activity would be generated for
3 5 the state's economy, supporting 16,997 midsize farms,
3 6 and supporting 178,000 total jobs in Iowa, including
3 7 49,000 full=time farm jobs; and
3 8 WHEREAS, targeted government procurement policies
3 9 have been successfully used to spur economic growth,
3 10 increase employment, develop rural communities, foster
3 11 the creation of value chain partnerships and promote
3 12 small businesses, including businesses operated by
3 13 families, young entrepreneurs, veterans, minorities,
3 14 persons with disabilities, ex=offenders, and others
3 15 underrepresented within the private sector; and
3 16 WHEREAS, Iowa has established a successful
3 17 high=profile precedent for using a procurement policy
3 18 to promote Iowa agriculture through a commitment at all
3 19 levels of government to use bio=based fuels; and
3 20 WHEREAS, in calendar year 2015, 1,110,278 gallons
3 21 of E=10 ethanol blended gasoline and 169,951 gallons
3 22 of E=85 ethanol blended gasoline were purchased by the
3 23 State Department of Transportation for use in vehicles
3 24 by departmental and local government employees; and
3 25 WHEREAS, in the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2014,
3 26 and ending June 30, 2015, 883,281 gallons of E=10
3 27 ethanol blended gasoline and 222,294 gallons of E=85
3 28 ethanol blended gasoline were purchased by a number of
3 29 other state agencies including but not limited to the
3 30 Department of Administrative Services, the Department
4 1 of Public Safety, the Department of Corrections, and
4 2 the Department of Human Services for use in vehicles by
4 3 agency employees; and
4 4 WHEREAS, the Iowa Healthiest State Initiative
4 5 instituted by Governor Terry Branstad is dedicated
4 6 to addressing the nutrition deficit associated
4 7 with the state's ranking last in the per capita
4 8 consumption of fruit and vegetables, as measured by the
4 9 Gallup=Healthways Well=Being Index; and
4 10 WHEREAS, government procurement preferences focused
4 11 on small local food producers will have ancillary
4 12 benefits, such as increasing the availability of
4 13 fresher and healthier foods; improving nutrition
4 14 among populations vulnerable to diabetes, obesity, and
4 15 other chronic health conditions; reducing negative
4 16 impacts associated with soil erosion and water
4 17 pollution; as well as diminishing the use of energy
4 18 resources associated with damaging climate impacts; NOW
4 19 THEREFORE,
4 20 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
4 21 That the House of Representatives strongly encourages
4 22 universities under the direction of the State Board of
4 23 Regents to increase the direct purchase of nutritious
4 24 and healthy food from local and regional producers,
4 25 including through food hubs created with the support of
4 26 Iowa's expanding Local Food and Farm Program; and
4 27 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the House of
4 28 Representatives strongly encourages other state and
4 29 local government entities including the Department
4 30 of Administrative Services and agencies purchasing
5 1 through that department, the Department for the Blind,
5 2 community colleges, and the Department of Corrections
5 3 and associated institutions, as well as counties,
5 4 cities, and public schools to increase the direct
5 5 purchase of nutritious and healthy food from local and
5 6 regional producers, including through food hubs created
5 7 with the support of Iowa's expanding Local Food and
5 8 Farm Program; and
5 9 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the House of
5 10 Representatives strongly encourages state and local
5 11 entities to establish procurement goals for the
5 12 purchase of healthy and nutritious food grown by
5 13 local and regional producers and to become active
5 14 participants in a regional food system working
5 15 group; and
5 16 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the House of
5 17 Representatives urges all public entities engaged in
5 18 cooperative or coordinated food purchasing to establish
5 19 procurement specifications requiring vendors to source
5 20 a designated percentage of food from local and regional
5 21 producers in order to be recognized as a qualified
5 22 bidder; and
5 23 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the House of
5 24 Representatives recognizes the United States Congress,
5 25 the United States Department of Agriculture, and the
5 26 Honorable Tom Vilsack, United States Secretary of
5 27 Agriculture, for supporting programs to bolster local
5 28 and regional food systems development, including
5 29 through the federal Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food
5 30 initiative and related undertakings, such as the Food
6 1 Insecurity and Nutrition Incentive Grant Program; and
6 2 the Farm to School Grant Program; and
6 3 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this
6 4 Resolution be sent to the Governor, the President
6 5 of the State Board of Regents, the Director of the
6 6 Department of Administrative Services, the Director
6 7 of the Department for the Blind, the Director of
6 8 the Department of Education, the Iowa Association
6 9 of Community College Trustees, the Director of the
6 10 Department of Corrections, the Iowa State Association
6 11 of Counties, and the Iowa League of Cities; and
6 12 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this
6 13 Resolution be sent to the President of the United
6 14 States, the United States Secretary of Agriculture,
6 15 the President and Secretary of the United States
6 16 Senate, the Speaker and Clerk of the United States
6 17 House of Representatives, and to the members of Iowa's
6 18 congressional delegation.
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