Local Food & Farm Task Force; SB 314 Approved by Governor
On April 6, SB 314, the bill to extend the state Local Food and Farm Task Force was approved by the Governor.
With the Governors approval of SB 314, the Local Food and Farm Task Force is re-established from its original 2015 time frame and will continue to meet monthly until its sunset on July 1, 2017. The new bill provides for Task Force staffing, and directs the Task Force to prepare a Local Food and Farm Plan to be submitted at the beginning of the 2017 Legislative Session. New/revised directives were advised for the Task Force to focus on and include:
Identification of financial opportunities, technical support, and training necessary to expand production and sales of locally grown agricultural products;
Identification of strategies and funding needs to make locally grown foods more accessible; and
Identification of factors affecting affordability and profitability of locally grown foods (new).
Stay tuned as KRC will continue to report updates and progress on the Local Food and Farm Task Force report recommendation progress and meetings throughout 2016. Thank you to all of those who have attended Task Force meetings and supported KRC's Feeding Kansas recommendations this past year!
This work is part of KRC's "Community Food Solutions for a Healthier Kansas" initiative that aims to advance seven key public policy solutions to better incorporate Kansas farms into the supply chain thereby potentially improving Kansas's economy, community, environment, and health status. For more information about this initiative visit kansasruralcenter.org/cfs.
