Modifying Provisions Related to Agriculture

S.B. 665 changes the Farm to School Act to the Farm to Table Act and repeals the legislation’s expiration date, previously set for December 31, 2015. The new act ‘s purpose is to connect Missouri farmers to public institutions. The bill instructs the state Department of Agriculture to develop voluntary guidelines for farm to table participation, and encourages, but does not require, public institutions such as schools to purchase 10 percent of foods locally. S.B. 665 also changes the structure of the existing farm to school task force, adding members from other state agencies and reducing the number of seats the Departments of Agriculture and Education hold. The other bills listed—H.B.s 1184, 1747, 2121, 2244 and S.B.s 38, 703,878,958, 1010—contain the same Farm to Table provisions described above, but these bills did not pass.