We’re excited to share a major milestone for CCOF-sponsored AB 1731, the California Healthy Food Procurement Fund Program!
Last week, the bill was considered by the Assembly Agriculture Committee—and passed with a bipartisan, unanimous vote.
This momentum was driven by over 150 CCOF farmers, ranchers, food businesses, and distributors in California—working in partnership with schools and other food and agricultural organizations! This strong support made a real difference in moving the bill forward.
A highlight of the hearing was testimony from Farmer Al Courchesne, a CCOF member and organic farmer at Frog Hollow Farm in Brentwood, and Kat Soltanmorad, Director of Food & Nutrition Services at Tahoe Truckee Unified School District and Board Member of the Tahoe Food Hub.
Farmer Al shared how difficult it was to access the school market—so much so that he couldn’t do it without help. He pointed out that farms like his are growing food just miles away from schools purchasing from national distributors bringing in out-of-state food. At a time of shrinking market opportunities, opening access to the school food market—which serves over 5 million meals a day across California—is critical.
Kat grounded the conversation in her experience in a small, rural district that became the Tahoe Food Hub’s first commercial client in 2013. She now mentors food service directors across California working to overcome the challenges of sourcing local, organic food—including all the logistics of finding vendors set up to work with schools and affording California-grown food, which can cost more than out-of-state options.
Drawing from his experience working with local schools, Farmer Al added that when food isn’t appealing, kids often don’t eat it and it gets thrown away—raising the question: how cheap is that food if you’re paying for it twice—once to buy it, and again to throw it away?
Together, their testimony highlighted why AB 1731—which establishes an approved vendor program and a fund to help schools purchase healthy, California-grown food—is so needed.
As Farmer Al said in closing:
“AB 1731 helps make it possible for the children in our communities to eat a fresh, organic peach from my farm instead of a cup of canned peaches coming from out of state.”
Thank you to Farmer Al and his team, for their dedication to farm-to-school and for showing up and sharing their story. Thank you to Assemblymember Lori Wilson for her leadership and commitment to California’s farmers, and to all the CCOF members who made this possible.
If you haven’t yet signed on in support of AB 1731, there’s still time to add your name as the bill moves forward: Click here to learn more about AB 1731 and sign in support!
Stay tuned for more opportunities to engage as AB 1731 continues through the legislative process. Please contact Laetitia Benador, CCOF Policy Manager, at lbenador@ccof.org.
