An Act To Establish the Maine Farm and Fish to School Program
Maine Legislature, Session 125, LD 1446
Committee: Education and Cultural Affairs
Sponsors: McCABE, LANGLEY, BEAVERS, BECK, BERRY, BLACK, BOLAND, BRIGGS, BRYANT, CAIN, CAREY, CHAPMAN, CHIPMAN, CRAY, CROCKETT, DILL, DOW, EDGECOMB, EVES, FLEMINGS, FOSSEL, FOSTER, GIFFORD, GILBERT, GOODE, GRAHAM, HARLOW, HARMON, HARVELL, HERBIG, HINCK, HOGAN, HUNT, INNES, KENT, KRUGER, KUMIEGA, LOVEJOY, LUCHINI, MAZUREK, MITCHELL, MORRISON, NELSON, O'BRIEN, RANKIN, RICHARDSON, ROCHELO, ROTUNDO, RUSSELL, SANBORN, SHAW, STEVENS, STUCKEY, TIMBERLAKE, TREAT, WAGNER, WEBSTER, WELSH, ALFOND, GOODALL
Amends: 7 MRSA §212, 7 MRSA §213, 7 MRSA §215-A, 20-A MRSA §6602

Legislative Document 
No. 1446 
H.P. 1060 
House of Representatives, April 11, 2011 
An Act To Establish the Maine Farm and Fish to School Program 
Reference to the Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs suggested and ordered 
printed. 
HEATHER J.R. PRIEST 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative McCABE of Skowhegan. 
Cosponsored by Senator LANGLEY of Hancock and 
Representatives: BEAVERS of South Berwick, BECK of Waterville, BERRY of Bowdoinham, 
BLACK of Wilton, BOLAND of Sanford, BRIGGS of Mexico, BRYANT of Windham, CAIN of 
Orono, CAREY of Lewiston, CHAPMAN of Brooksville, CHIPMAN of Portland, CORNELL du 
HOUX of Brunswick, CRAY of Palmyra, CROCKETT of Bethel, DILL of Cape Elizabeth, DILL of 
Old Town, DOW of Waldoboro, EDGECOMB of Caribou, EVES of North Berwick, FLEMINGS of 
Bar Harbor, FOSSEL of Alna, FOSTER of Augusta, GIFFORD of Lincoln, GILBERT of Jay, GOODE 
of Bangor, GRAHAM of North Yarmouth, HARLOW of Portland, HARMON of Palermo, HARVELL 
of Farmington, HERBIG of Belfast, HINCK of Portland, HOGAN of Old Orchard Beach, HUNT of 
Buxton, INNES of Yarmouth, KENT of Woolwich, KRUGER of Thomaston, KUMIEGA of Deer Isle, 
LOVEJOY of Portland, LUCHINI of Ellsworth, MAZUREK of Rockland, McKANE of Newcastle, 
MITCHELL of the Penobscot Nation, MORRISON of South Portland, NELSON of Falmouth, 
O'BRIEN of Lincolnville, RANKIN of Hiram, RICHARDSON of Warren, ROCHELO of Biddeford, 
ROTUNDO of Lewiston, RUSSELL of Portland, SANBORN of Gorham, SHAW of Standish, 
STEVENS of Bangor, STUCKEY of Portland, TIMBERLAKE of Turner, TREAT of Hallowell, 
WAGNER of Lewiston, WEBSTER of Freeport, WELSH of Rockport, Senators: ALFOND of 
Cumberland, GOODALL of Sagadahoc. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  7 MRSA §212, sub-§2-A is enacted to read: 
2-A.  Minimally processed.  "Minimally processed" means, with respect to food 
items, processed only by washing, cleaning, trimming, drying, sorting, freezing or 
packaging or by a combination of those activities. 
Sec. 2.  7 MRSA §213, as amended by PL 2005, c. 382, Pt. C, §1, is further 
amended by adding after the first paragraph a new paragraph to read: 
Beginning with the 2015-2016 school year, each school district shall expend a 
minimum of 10% of total school food purchases on purchases from Maine food 
producers.   Beginning with the 2020-2021 school year, each school district shall expend 
a minimum of 20% of total school food purchases on purchases from Maine food 
producers.  Beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, each school district shall expend a 
minimum of 30% of total school food purchases on purchases from Maine food 
producers. 
Sec. 3.  7 MRSA §215-A is enacted to read: 
§215-A.  Maine Farm and Fish to School Program 
1.  Program established.  The Maine Farm and Fish to School Program, referred to 
in this section as "the program," is established within the department to promote, market 
and facilitate the sale of food grown or raised and fish raised or caught by Maine food 
producers to primary and secondary schools and postsecondary educational institutions.  
The commissioner shall administer the program in consultation with the Department of 
Education and the Department of Health and Human Services, Maine Center for Disease 
Control and Prevention.  For the purposes of this section, "departments" means the 
Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources, the Department of Education and 
the Department of Health and Human Services, Maine Center for Disease Control and 
Prevention. 
2.  Program objectives.  To implement the program, the departments shall share 
information and work collaboratively with the Maine Food Policy Council established 
under section 216 and the Maine Agriculture in the Classroom Council established under 
section 242 to: 
A.  Develop, implement and support food procurement strategies for schools that 
recognize the benefits of, and result in, increased purchasing from Maine food 
producers; 
B.  Provide or coordinate technical assistance and training to school personnel as 
needed to facilitate meal preparation using whole, fresh and minimally processed 
foods from Maine food producers; 
C.  Connect Maine food producers with state and local purchasers and maintain an 
interactive website created for this purpose; and 
D.  Maximize funding received under the National School Lunch Program under 7 
Code of Federal Regulations, Part 210 (2007) and the federal School Breakfast 
Program under 7 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 220 (2007). 
3.  Farm and Fish to School Fund established.  The Farm and Fish to School Fund, 
referred to in this section as "the fund," is established within the department.  The 
commissioner may accept funds from public and private sources for deposit in the fund.  
The fund must be held separate and apart from all other money, funds and accounts.  Any 
balance remaining in the fund at the end of the fiscal year does not lapse and must be 
carried forward to the next fiscal year. The fund may be used: 
A.  To support activities of the departments to advance program objectives under  
subsection 2; 
B.  To contract for services to advance program objectives under subsection 2; and 
C.  To fund planning and implementation grants to schools and Maine food producers 
under subsection 4. 
4.  Grants.  The Department of Education shall award grants from the fund to school 
districts to support nutrition education programs and purchases from Maine food 
producers for school lunch and breakfast programs.  The Department of Agriculture, 
Food and Rural Resources shall award grants to Maine food producers to support the 
aggregation, packaging, storage and transportation of their products to school districts. 
Sec. 4.  20-A MRSA §6602, sub-§12, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 447, §1, is 
amended to read: 
12.  Local Food Procurement Fund.  The Local Produce Food Procurement Fund is 
established within the Department of Education.  The fund is authorized to receive 
revenue from public and private sources.  The fund must be held separate and apart from 
all other money, funds and accounts.  Any balance remaining in the fund at the end of the 
fiscal year must be carried forward to the next fiscal year.  The fund must be used to 
match $1 for every $3 a school administrative unit pays for produce, meat, fish, eggs, 
dairy products or minimally processed foods purchased directly from a farmer or a 
farmers' cooperative or a fisherman or a fishermen's cooperative in the State, to a 
maximum state contribution of $1,000.  A school administrative unit shall provide the 
department with an invoice each month that funding is sought.  At the end of the fiscal 
year, the school administrative unit may shall provide the department with receipts 
documenting purchases pursuant to this subsection during that year.  For purposes of this 
subsection, "minimally processed" means only the washing, cleaning, trimming, drying, 
sorting, freezing and packaging of food items or a combination of those activities.  
Reimbursement or partial reimbursement to school administrative units may only be 
made up to the amount available in the fund.  Failure to reimburse does not constitute an 
obligation on behalf of the State to a school administrative unit. 
Sec. 5.  Departments to work toward full implementation of 
recommendations to strengthen farm-to-school efforts.  The Commissioner of 
Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources, the Commissioner of Education and the 
Commissioner of Health and Human Services shall review the report submitted to the 
Joint Standing Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, the Joint Standing 
Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs and the Joint Standing Committee on 
Health and Human Services on February 5, 2010 in response to Resolve 2009, chapter 
106.  The commissioners shall determine actions not yet taken to implement the 
recommendations in that report, the statutory requirements of this Act and local wellness 
policies in compliance with the United States Child Nutrition WIC Reauthorization Act 
of 2004, Public Law 108-265, Section 204, adopted June 30, 2004. 
No later than January 4, 2012, the commissioners shall report to the Joint Standing 
Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, the Joint Standing Committee on 
Education and Cultural Affairs and the Joint Standing Committee on Health and Human 
Services with a list prioritizing actions necessary to advance the State’s food policy 
established in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 7, chapter 8-A and this Act.  The 
commissioners within their existing authority shall adopt or revise rules and agency 
policies to support the State's food policy, the Maine Food Policy Council established in 
Title 7, section 216 and the Maine Agriculture in the Classroom Council established in 
Title 7, section 242.  The commissioners shall prepare and submit any legislation and 
request all resources necessary to fully implement the State's food policy. 
SUMMARY 
This bill establishes the Maine Farm and Fish to School Program to increase the 
purchasing by schools of food raised, grown or harvested by Maine farmers and 
fishermen. It establishes a fund to implement the program.  It establishes a minimum 
percentage of school food budgets to be spent on food purchased from Maine producers 
and increases that percentage in 3 steps to 30% in the 2025-2026 school year.  It revises 
the Local Produce Fund in the Department of Education to include meat and fish, 
removes the maximum contribution of the State set in statute and renames it the Local 
Food Procurement Fund. 
The bill requires the Commissioner of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources, the 
Commissioner of Education and the Commissioner of Health and Human Services to 
determine actions needed to fully implement the State’s food policy and to take steps and 
request resources to do so.