Farm Coops Applaud the American Food for American Schools Act

The National Council of Farmer Cooperatives applauded the introduction of The American Food for American Schools Act.  The legislation in the Senate will strengthen monitoring and enforcement of “Buy American” provisions of the National School Lunch and Breakfast programs, if approved. Chuck Conner, president and CEO of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, says the last several years has seen an “alarming increase” in the amount of foreign-produced food served in schools “when comparable American-grown products are readily available.”  The organization believes that the legislation will help to “shed light on the extent of this problem.”

Beginning in the late 1980s, provisions were added to the school lunch and breakfast programs that require schools to purchase domestic commodities and food products. However, recent reports have found a significant amount of school lunch foods are imported.

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