House Resolution 22 - Introduced HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 22 BY ISENHART , HAGER , LUNDGREN , BERGAN , KURTH , STAED , McCONKEY , McKEAN , and KRESSIG 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 WHEREAS, Iowa’s Regional Food Systems Working Group, 5 comprised of 15 geographically based groups covering 6 91 Iowa counties, is a network established in 2003 to 7 support Iowans who are working together to build more 8 resilient food systems; and 9 WHEREAS, each regional group convenes multiple 10 stakeholders, including farm producers, food 11 processors, and other businesses, nonprofit 12 organizations, Iowa State University Extension 13 and Outreach, the Leopold Center for Sustainable 14 Agriculture, resource conservation and development 15 organizations, educational institutions, and other 16 state and local government entities to support local 17 and regional food system development; and 18 WHEREAS, in 2011 Iowa Acts, chapter 128, the General 19 Assembly created the Local Food and Farm Program and 20 the Local Food and Farm Program Fund administered by 21 the Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, to 22 support the diversification of Iowa agriculture and 23 Iowa’s economy through the development of integrated 24 local food systems to promote the production, sale, and 25 consumption of food grown in Iowa; and 26 WHEREAS, beginning in 2011, the General Assembly has 27 -1- LSB 1342HH (6) 87 da/rj 1/ 5

H.R. 22 annually appropriated moneys to support the Local Food 1 and Farm Program administered under Iowa Code chapter 2 267A; and 3 WHEREAS, according to a 2014 report published by 4 Iowa State University of Science and Technology, Iowa 5 farmers responding to a survey reported a more than 23 6 percent year-over-year increase in food sales through 7 direct-to-consumer transactions such as farmers’ 8 markets and community-supported agriculture, as well 9 as through wholesalers and large-volume institutional 10 buyers such as grocery stores, restaurants, schools, 11 and hospitals; and 12 WHEREAS, according to a 2014 report published 13 by Iowa State University of Science and Technology, 14 larger-scale buyers of local foods responding to a 15 survey reported increased purchases in local food 16 sales totaling more than $22 million in 2012-2013, 17 with 80 percent of those annual sales made to just 37 18 buyers, for an average of almost $250,000 in local food 19 purchases per buyer per year; and 20 WHEREAS, according to a 2016 report published by 21 the Union of Concerned Scientists, if all intermediate 22 and institutional buyers in Iowa purchased local food 23 at the same level as survey respondents, more than $3 24 billion in new economic activity would be generated for 25 the state’s economy, supporting 16,997 midsize farms, 26 and supporting 178,000 total jobs in Iowa, including 27 49,000 full-time farm jobs; and 28 WHEREAS, targeted government procurement policies 29 have been successfully used to spur economic growth, 30 -2- LSB 1342HH (6) 87 da/rj 2/ 5

H.R. 22 increase employment, develop rural communities, foster 1 the creation of value chain partnerships and promote 2 small businesses, including businesses operated by 3 families, young entrepreneurs, veterans, minorities, 4 persons with disabilities, ex-offenders, and others 5 underrepresented within the private sector; and 6 WHEREAS, Iowa has established a successful 7 high-profile precedent for using a procurement policy 8 to promote Iowa agriculture through a commitment at all 9 levels of government to use bio-based fuels; and 10 WHEREAS, in calendar year 2015, 1,110,278 gallons 11 of E-10 ethanol blended gasoline and 169,951 gallons 12 of E-85 ethanol blended gasoline were purchased by the 13 State Department of Transportation for use in vehicles 14 by departmental and local government employees; and 15 WHEREAS, in the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2014, 16 and ending June 30, 2015, 883,281 gallons of E-10 17 ethanol blended gasoline and 222,294 gallons of E-85 18 ethanol blended gasoline were purchased by a number of 19 other state agencies including but not limited to the 20 Department of Administrative Services, the Department 21 of Public Safety, the Department of Corrections, and 22 the Department of Human Services for use in vehicles by 23 agency employees; and 24 WHEREAS, the Iowa Healthiest State Initiative 25 instituted by Governor Terry Branstad is dedicated to 26 achieving the goal of making Iowa the healthiest state 27 in the nation; and 28 WHEREAS, government procurement preferences focused 29 on small local food producers will have ancillary 30 -3- LSB 1342HH (6) 87 da/rj 3/ 5

H.R. 22 benefits, such as increasing the availability of 1 fresher and healthier foods; improving nutrition 2 among populations vulnerable to diabetes, obesity, and 3 other chronic health conditions; reducing negative 4 impacts associated with soil erosion and water 5 pollution; as well as diminishing the use of energy 6 resources associated with damaging climate impacts; NOW 7 THEREFORE, 8 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 9 That the House of Representatives strongly encourages 10 universities under the direction of the State Board of 11 Regents to increase the direct purchase of nutritious 12 and healthy food from local and regional producers, 13 including through food hubs created with the support of 14 Iowa’s expanding Local Food and Farm Program; and 15 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the House of 16 Representatives strongly encourages other state and 17 local government entities including the Department 18 of Administrative Services and agencies purchasing 19 through that department, the Department for the Blind, 20 community colleges, and the Department of Corrections 21 and associated institutions, as well as counties, 22 cities, and public schools to increase the direct 23 purchase of nutritious and healthy food from local and 24 regional producers, including through food hubs created 25 with the support of Iowa’s expanding Local Food and 26 Farm Program; and 27 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the House of 28 Representatives strongly encourages state and local 29 entities to establish procurement goals for the 30 -4- LSB 1342HH (6) 87 da/rj 4/ 5

H.R. 22 purchase of healthy and nutritious food grown by 1 local and regional producers and to become active 2 participants in a regional food system working 3 group; and 4 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the House of 5 Representatives urges all public entities engaged in 6 cooperative or coordinated food purchasing to establish 7 procurement specifications requiring vendors to source 8 a designated percentage of food from local and regional 9 producers in order to be recognized as a qualified 10 bidder; and 11 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this 12 Resolution be sent to the Governor, the President 13 of the State Board of Regents, the Director of the 14 Department of Administrative Services, the Director 15 of the Department for the Blind, the Director of 16 the Department of Education, the Iowa Association 17 of Community College Trustees, the Director of the 18 Department of Corrections, the Iowa State Association 19 of Counties, and the Iowa League of Cities. 20 -5- LSB 1342HH (6) 87 da/rj 5/ 5