HR0376 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0376 LRB100 12584 MST 25862 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Farm to School programs in Illinois schools teach students about the connection between healthy food and local farmers, and make it more likely that students will eat the fresh fruits and vegetables served in their school meals; and

WHEREAS, Illinois-grown produce, such as apples, purchased by schools and promoted in the cafeterias, brings an economic benefit to farmers in the community and across the State; and

WHEREAS, A school day celebration of Illinois produce, such as the Illinois Great Apple Crunch, makes it easy for schools to purchase Illinois-grown apples and celebrate agriculture and healthy food with their students through a cafeteria celebration and community education; the Illinois Great Apple Crunch is a day-long celebration of fresh, local apples from the Midwest; schools across the State of Illinois can participate by serving local apples on the lunch tray and crunching into them together as a school; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois Farm to School Network, in partnership with the Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom program, is committed to helping schools participate in the Illinois Great Apple Crunch through the provision of educational materials and an online website and registration to support the day, and acknowledges the support of the Illinois Farm Bureau and the Illinois Specialty Growers Association in connecting to Illinois farmers; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois Farm to School Network is committed to increasing the amount of locally grown food in schools, as well as agriculture education, and programs such as the Illinois Great Apple Crunch make it easy for schools to participate in these programs; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare October 12, 2017 as the "Illinois Great Apple Crunch Day"; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be presented to the Illinois Department of Agriculture, the Illinois State Board of Education, and the Illinois School Nutrition Association.