April 29, 2014
Louisiana Senate Agriculture, Forestry, Aquaculture and Rural Development Committee
P.O. Box 94183
Baton Rouge, LA 70804
RE: SCR 94
Dear Members of Senate Agriculture, Forestry, Aquaculture and Rural Development Committee:
On behalf of the Recirculating Farms Coalition (RFC),1 and all of our members, please accept this letter as formal comments
related to Senator Heitmeier's proposed resolution (SCR 94) that promotes the development of important farm to school
infrastructure in Louisiana.
Background:
The Recirculating Farms Coalition works with food producers throughout the United States who use naturally cleaned and
constantly recycled water in place of soil as the basis to grow food and other agricultural products. These “recirculating”
farmers employ “hydroponics” – growing plants in recirculating nutrient rich water, “aquaculture” – raising fish in tanks with
recirculating water (similar to an aquarium) and “aquaponics” a combination of hydroponics and aquaculture where fish and
plants are raised together in one closed-loop symbiotic recirculating system that mimics the function of a natural ecosystem.
A policy priority of RFC is to ease the barriers of getting locally grown food into school cafeterias. Our organization
participates in farm to school activities with the goal of increasing school children's access to local, fresh and sustainably
grown food. At the moment, our efforts are focused in Louisiana, and particularly New Orleans. We utilize our recirculating
farming expertise and provide support services to institutions that see recirculating farming as a means to strengthen their
farm to school activities. To this end, in the last year, RFC has joined an emerging Louisiana Farm to School Network;
networked with school food authorities throughout Louisiana; won a scholarship to the USDA's Farm to Cafeteria annual
conference; is in the process of developing a Louisiana specific school food policy map; and been invited to lecture at the
School Nutrition Association of Louisiana's annual conference.
Support for SCR 94:
Louisiana is in a unique position to develop robust and vibrant farm to school infrastructure. From citrus groves in
Plaquemines Parish to sweet potatoes in Northern Louisiana, our state has almost 30,000 farms spanning eight million acres of
land. Louisiana has a special opportunity to utilize our diverse agricultural expertise to address a variety of social, economic
and environmental challenges in our communities.
Farm to school programs are good for farmers, the environment, students and communities. For instance, across the nation,
schools spent about $355 million on local foods during the 2011-2012 school year.2 Furthermore, through the school's
purchasing power, the USDA estimates that 3,812 districts operating approximately 38,629 schools with 21,008,254 students in
attendance are buying local products and teaching children where their food comes from.3 The USDA's census shows that
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The Recirculating Farms Coalition is a national non-profit collaborative group of farmers, educators, non-profit organizations and
many others committed to building local sources of healthy, accessible food, through eco-efficient farms using clean recycled water.
We believe these recirculating farms can create stable green jobs and supply sustainably-grown food—fruits, vegetables, herbs and
humanely-raised seafood—in diverse communities nationwide, and someday worldwide. The Recirculating Farms Coalition is
headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana. Http://www.recirculatingfarms.org
See National Farm to School Network Homepage, available at http://www.farmtoschool.org/ (last accessed April 28, 2014).
See The Farm to School Census. National Overview, available at http://www.fns.usda.gov/farmtoschool/census#/national (last
accessed April 28, 2014).
through this type of educational programming, schools can have a profound impact on helping our nation's youth develop
lifelong healthy habits. By supporting these programs, school districts and government help create important markets and
financial opportunities for small-scale and local farmers, fishermen, and ranchers.
Farm to school programs also greatly reduce farming's impact on the environment. Today, the average food item in the
United States travels 5,000 miles.4 Use of fuel for transportation and refrigeration to move food such great distances is just
one reason to promote farm to school programs. Agriculture is responsible for one-third of all anthropogenic greenhouse gas
emissions.5 In light of agriculture's environmental impact, farm to school activities are fiscally appropriate solutions to helping
mitigate pollution that can contribute to the ever-increasing problem of climate change.
Farm to school activities also present socially responsible programs that address public health issues, such as childhood
malnutrition and obesity. Currently, over 25 percent of Louisiana's 782,078 school-age children are living at or below the
poverty line.6 In the greater New Orleans area, the obesity rate is 38 percent – 5 percent higher than the national average.7
Many Louisiana students receive breakfast, lunch and sometimes even a snack and dinner at school. Providing better, fresher,
healthier foods to students at school through farm to school programs, can decrease malnutrition, obesity and other dietrelated illnesses. Also farm to school activities can promote learning about farming and fresh foods and provide important
knowledge about healthy lifestyle and well-being.
SCR 94 is an important forward step to growing Louisiana's farm to school opportunities for the following reasons:
 First, the resolution correctly directs the proposal to collect data on the various crops grown by both small and largescale farmers throughout Louisiana. With this information, farm to school advocates and school procurement
officers will have increased access to different agricultural operations so that they can grow local food purchases.
 Second, the resolution specifically instructs the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Education to
develop a statewide plan to provide economic relief for small farmers related to insurance requirements. High
insurance rates prevent Louisiana's small farmers from accessing different institutional markets such as schools and
hospitals. A state-sponsored program that will support farmers obtain appropriate liability insurance for their
operations will greatly increase economic opportunities for our State's agricultural producers.
 Third, this resolution calls for the development of a plan to increase the number of processing sites in Louisiana.
Facilitating this smart growth in our state's agriculture sector is essential in building a state-wide food system that can
aggregate agricultural products so that Louisiana farmers can meet the quantitative demand of institutional
purchasers.
 Finally, SCR 94 will establish a plan for schools to have greater access to kitchen equipment that will allow them to
prepare food onsite. Preparing school menus from scratch is an essential component for farm to school activities.
Without the ability to prepare food onsite, schools are often unable to offer local foods on cafeteria menus.
RFC is excited that the Louisiana Senate Agriculture, Forestry, Aquaculture and Rural Development Committee is considering
this resolution. On behalf of our members, we urge each member of the committee to vote for SCR 94 as written and send
the resolution to the Senate floor with your support. We look forward to working with you to promote an effective farm to
school program in Louisiana.
Sincerely,
Emily Posner
Policy and Legislative Counsel
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See Michael Bomford. Beyond Food Miles. Post Carbon Institute (Mar. 9, 2011), available at http://www.postcarbon.org/article/273686beyond-food-miles#_edn3.
See Natasha Gilbert. One-third of our greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture, Nature (Oct. 31, 2012), available at
http://www.nature.com/news/one-third-of-our-greenhouse-gas-emissions-come-from-agriculture-1.11708.
See Childcare Aware of America. School-age Children 5 to 17 Years of Living in Poverty, available at
http://www.naccrra.org/sites/default/files/default_site_pages/2011/school-age_children_in_poverty.pdf
See Meg Farris, City Leaders Brainstorm Ideas to Fix New Orleans' High Obesity Rate, WWL-TV, Sep. 29, 2011, available at
http://www.wwltv.com/news/health/City-leaders-brainstorm-ideas-to-fix-New-Orleans-high-obesity-rate-130818118.html.