An Act To Enhance Efforts To Use Locally Produced Food in Schools
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 1185
Committee: Education and Cultural Affairs
Sponsors: McCABE, ALFOND, BLACK, RANKIN, JOHNSON, LANGLEY, MILLETT
Amends: 20-A MRSA §6663

Legislative Document 
No. 1185 
H.P. 829 
House of Representatives, March 26, 2013 
An Act To Enhance Efforts To Use Locally Produced Food in 
Schools 
Reference to the Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs suggested and ordered 
printed. 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative McCABE of Skowhegan. 
Cosponsored by President ALFOND of Cumberland and 
Representatives: BLACK of Wilton, MacDONALD of Boothbay, McCLELLAN of Raymond, 
RANKIN of Hiram, Senators: JOHNSON of Lincoln, LANGLEY of Hancock, MILLETT of 
Cumberland. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  20-A MRSA §6663 is enacted to read: 
§6663.  Locally produced food in school meal programs 
1.  Data collection; website.  A school administrative unit shall annually determine 
the percentage of food purchased for use in its elementary school and secondary school 
meal programs that is grown, raised or caught in the State.  In addition, the school 
administrative unit shall annually determine the percentage of dairy products purchased 
for use in its elementary school and secondary school meal programs that is produced in 
the State. 
The school administrative unit shall annually report the data collected under this 
subsection to the department.  The department shall make the data reported pursuant to 
this subsection available to the public within 30 days of the reporting deadline established 
by rule of the department. 
Within 45 days of the reporting deadline, the department shall publish on its publicly 
accessible website a list of the school administrative units that are meeting the 
benchmarks established under this subsection. 
A.  A school administrative unit in which at least 30% of the food used in its 
elementary school and secondary school meal programs is grown, raised or caught in 
the State must be designated on the website as a "Gold Medal Eat Local School." 
B.  A school administrative unit in which at least 20% but less than 30% of the food 
used in its elementary school and secondary school meal programs is grown, raised or 
caught in the State must be designated on the website as a "Silver Medal Eat Local 
School." 
C.  A school administrative unit in which at least 10% but less than 20% of the food 
used in its elementary school and secondary school meal programs is grown, raised or 
caught in State must be designated on the website as a "Bronze Medal Eat Local 
School." 
2.  Rules.  The department shall adopt routine technical rules in accordance with Title 
5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A to implement the provisions of this section.  The rules 
must at a minimum: 
A.  Establish a schedule and protocol for the reporting and collection of data from 
school administrative units; 
B.  Provide a method for school administrative units to submit data; 
C.  Create a uniform procedure for reporting of the collected data to the public; and 
D.  Beginning in 2016 and every 3 years thereafter, establish new benchmarks for the 
gold, silver and bronze designations under subsection 1. 
SUMMARY 
This bill requires a school administrative unit to report on its use of local foods in its 
school meal programs.  It requires the Department of Education to make the reporting 
available to the public and to publish a list of schools that meet benchmarks for 
increasing the use of local foods.  It also requires the Department of Education to 
establish rules to implement the provisions.