The Vermont House of Representatives read and adopted House Concurrent Resolution 144 on Feb. 8, 2024, designating Feb. 8, 2024 as Farm to School and Farm to Early Childhood Awareness Day at the State House.
A legislative reader recited the resolution’s findings, citing Acts and Resolves that established the Roscoe McLaughlin farm-to-school program and describing program impacts, including a statement that, in 2019, 17,300,000 meals were served under the program and that more than 100 Vermont farms participated. The reading also says 89% of Vermont schools and 56% of early childhood programs purchased at least some food from local farms. The resolution directs the secretary of state to send a copy to "Vermont FEED" as written in the adopted text.
Member from Barnard, speaking in recognition of the visitors from the Vermont Farm to School Network, said it had been "so touching to hear the positive experiences" students had with gardens and farm visits and called the work "truly inspiring." The presiding officer asked members to rise to recognize the guests in the gallery.
The resolution was adopted pursuant to the consent calendar and no floor debate on the merits is recorded in the provided transcript.
The House’s reading and adoption of H.C.R. 144 recognizes the statewide programs’ educational and economic aims and records participation statistics in the resolution text. The transcript contains inconsistent spellings of the named farm-to-school program and variants of the program founder’s name within the reading; this article presents the program name as read and notes the transcript inconsistency for clarity.