House Resolution 116 - Introduced HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 116 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 A Resolution encouraging state and local governments 1 to increase the direct purchase of nutritious and 2 healthy food from local and regional producers, 3 including through Iowa’s regional food systems, 4 and recognizing the United States Congress and 5 the United States Department of Agriculture 6 for bolstering local and regional food system 7 development. 8 WHEREAS, Iowa’s Regional Food Systems Working Group, 9 comprised of 15 geographically based groups covering 10 91 Iowa counties, is a network established in 2003 to 11 support Iowans who are working together to build more 12 resilient food systems; and 13 WHEREAS, each regional group convenes multiple 14 stakeholders, including farm producers, food 15 processors, and other businesses, nonprofit 16 organizations, Iowa State University Extension 17 and Outreach, the Leopold Center for Sustainable 18 Agriculture, resource conservation and development 19 organizations, educational institutions, and other 20 state and local government entities to support local 21 and regional food system development; and 22 -1- LSB 6088HH (10) 86 da/rj 1/ 6

H.R. 116 WHEREAS, in 2011 Iowa Acts, chapter 128, the General 1 Assembly created the Local Food and Farm Program and 2 the Local Food and Farm Program Fund administered by 3 the Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, to 4 support the diversification of Iowa agriculture and 5 Iowa’s economy through the development of integrated 6 local food systems to promote the production, sale, and 7 consumption of food grown in Iowa; and 8 WHEREAS, beginning in 2011, the General Assembly has 9 annually appropriated moneys to support the Local Food 10 and Farm Program administered under Iowa Code chapter 11 267A; and 12 WHEREAS, according to a 2014 report published by 13 Iowa State University of Science and Technology, Iowa 14 farmers responding to a survey reported a more than 23 15 percent year-over-year increase in food sales through 16 direct-to-consumer transactions such as farmers’ 17 markets and community-supported agriculture, as well 18 as through wholesalers and large-volume institutional 19 buyers such as grocery stores, restaurants, schools, 20 and hospitals; and 21 WHEREAS, according to a 2014 report published 22 by Iowa State University of Science and Technology, 23 larger-scale buyers of local foods responding to a 24 survey reported increased purchases in local food 25 sales totaling more than $22 million in 2012-2013, 26 with 80 percent of those annual sales made to just 37 27 buyers, for an average of almost $250,000 in local food 28 purchases per buyer per year; and 29 WHEREAS, according to a 2016 report published by 30 -2- LSB 6088HH (10) 86 da/rj 2/ 6

H.R. 116 the Union of Concerned Scientists, if all intermediate 1 and institutional buyers in Iowa purchased local food 2 at the same level as survey respondents, more than $3 3 billion in new economic activity would be generated for 4 the state’s economy, supporting 16,997 midsize farms, 5 and supporting 178,000 total jobs in Iowa, including 6 49,000 full-time farm jobs; and 7 WHEREAS, targeted government procurement policies 8 have been successfully used to spur economic growth, 9 increase employment, develop rural communities, foster 10 the creation of value chain partnerships and promote 11 small businesses, including businesses operated by 12 families, young entrepreneurs, veterans, minorities, 13 persons with disabilities, ex-offenders, and others 14 underrepresented within the private sector; and 15 WHEREAS, Iowa has established a successful 16 high-profile precedent for using a procurement policy 17 to promote Iowa agriculture through a commitment at all 18 levels of government to use bio-based fuels; and 19 WHEREAS, in calendar year 2015, 1,110,278 gallons 20 of E-10 ethanol blended gasoline and 169,951 gallons 21 of E-85 ethanol blended gasoline were purchased by the 22 State Department of Transportation for use in vehicles 23 by departmental and local government employees; and 24 WHEREAS, in the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2014, 25 and ending June 30, 2015, 883,281 gallons of E-10 26 ethanol blended gasoline and 222,294 gallons of E-85 27 ethanol blended gasoline were purchased by a number of 28 other state agencies including but not limited to the 29 Department of Administrative Services, the Department 30 -3- LSB 6088HH (10) 86 da/rj 3/ 6

H.R. 116 of Public Safety, the Department of Corrections, and 1 the Department of Human Services for use in vehicles by 2 agency employees; and 3 WHEREAS, the Iowa Healthiest State Initiative 4 instituted by Governor Terry Branstad is dedicated 5 to addressing the nutrition deficit associated 6 with the state’s ranking last in the per capita 7 consumption of fruit and vegetables, as measured by the 8 Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index; and 9 WHEREAS, government procurement preferences focused 10 on small local food producers will have ancillary 11 benefits, such as increasing the availability of 12 fresher and healthier foods; improving nutrition 13 among populations vulnerable to diabetes, obesity, and 14 other chronic health conditions; reducing negative 15 impacts associated with soil erosion and water 16 pollution; as well as diminishing the use of energy 17 resources associated with damaging climate impacts; NOW 18 THEREFORE, 19 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 20 That the House of Representatives strongly encourages 21 universities under the direction of the State Board of 22 Regents to increase the direct purchase of nutritious 23 and healthy food from local and regional producers, 24 including through food hubs created with the support of 25 Iowa’s expanding Local Food and Farm Program; and 26 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the House of 27 Representatives strongly encourages other state and 28 local government entities including the Department 29 of Administrative Services and agencies purchasing 30 -4- LSB 6088HH (10) 86 da/rj 4/ 6

H.R. 116 through that department, the Department for the Blind, 1 community colleges, and the Department of Corrections 2 and associated institutions, as well as counties, 3 cities, and public schools to increase the direct 4 purchase of nutritious and healthy food from local and 5 regional producers, including through food hubs created 6 with the support of Iowa’s expanding Local Food and 7 Farm Program; and 8 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the House of 9 Representatives strongly encourages state and local 10 entities to establish procurement goals for the 11 purchase of healthy and nutritious food grown by 12 local and regional producers and to become active 13 participants in a regional food system working 14 group; and 15 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the House of 16 Representatives urges all public entities engaged in 17 cooperative or coordinated food purchasing to establish 18 procurement specifications requiring vendors to source 19 a designated percentage of food from local and regional 20 producers in order to be recognized as a qualified 21 bidder; and 22 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the House of 23 Representatives recognizes the United States Congress, 24 the United States Department of Agriculture, and the 25 Honorable Tom Vilsack, United States Secretary of 26 Agriculture, for supporting programs to bolster local 27 and regional food systems development, including 28 through the federal Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food 29 initiative and related undertakings, such as the Food 30 -5- LSB 6088HH (10) 86 da/rj 5/ 6

H.R. 116 Insecurity and Nutrition Incentive Grant Program; and 1 the Farm to School Grant Program; and 2 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this 3 Resolution be sent to the Governor, the President 4 of the State Board of Regents, the Director of the 5 Department of Administrative Services, the Director 6 of the Department for the Blind, the Director of 7 the Department of Education, the Iowa Association 8 of Community College Trustees, the Director of the 9 Department of Corrections, the Iowa State Association 10 of Counties, and the Iowa League of Cities; and 11 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this 12 Resolution be sent to the President of the United 13 States, the United States Secretary of Agriculture, 14 the President and Secretary of the United States 15 Senate, the Speaker and Clerk of the United States 16 House of Representatives, and to the members of Iowa’s 17 congressional delegation. 18 -6- LSB 6088HH (10) 86 da/rj 6/ 6