| 1 | 1 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . No. 4424 |
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| 2 | 2 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 3 | 3 | | ________________________________________ |
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| 4 | 4 | | HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, February 26, 2024. |
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| 5 | 5 | | The committee on Education, to whom was referred the petition |
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| 6 | 6 | | (accompanied by bill, House, No. 601) of Andres X. Vargas, Mindy Domb |
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| 7 | 7 | | and others that the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education be |
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| 8 | 8 | | authorized to promote and facilitate food literacy programs in school |
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| 9 | 9 | | districts, charter schools, approved private day or residential schools, or |
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| 10 | 10 | | collaborative schools, reports recommending that the accompanying bill |
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| 11 | 11 | | (House, No. 4424) ought to pass. |
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| 12 | 12 | | For the committee, |
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| 13 | 13 | | DENISE C. GARLICK. 1 of 3 |
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| 14 | 14 | | FILED ON: 2/5/2024 |
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| 15 | 15 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4424 |
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| 16 | 16 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 17 | 17 | | _______________ |
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| 18 | 18 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
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| 19 | 19 | | (2023-2024) |
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| 20 | 20 | | _______________ |
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| 21 | 21 | | An Act relative to food literacy. |
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| 22 | 22 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 23 | 23 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 24 | 24 | | 1 SECTION 1. Chapter 10 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, |
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| 25 | 25 | | 2is hereby amended by inserting after section 35SSS the following section: |
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| 26 | 26 | | 3 Section 35TTT. There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth |
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| 27 | 27 | | 4a separate fund to be known as the Food Literacy Trust Fund. The fund may receive money |
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| 28 | 28 | | 5from: any appropriations authorized by the general court specifically designated to be credited to |
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| 29 | 29 | | 6the fund; gifts, grants and donations from public or private sources; federal reimbursements and |
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| 30 | 30 | | 7grants-in-aid; and any interest earned from the fund. Monies may be expended by the department |
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| 31 | 31 | | 8of elementary and secondary education to encourage and facilitate food literacy programs in |
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| 32 | 32 | | 9school districts, charter schools, approved private day or residential schools, or collaborative |
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| 33 | 33 | | 10schools. |
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| 34 | 34 | | 11 No expenditure from the fund shall cause the fund to be in deficiency at the close of the |
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| 35 | 35 | | 12fiscal year. The fund shall be an expendable trust fund and shall not be subject to appropriation |
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| 36 | 36 | | 13or allotment. The state treasurer shall be the custodian of the fund and shall receive, deposit and 2 of 3 |
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| 37 | 37 | | 14invest all money transmitted under this section to ensure the highest interest rate available |
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| 38 | 38 | | 15consistent with the safety of the fund. The books and records of the fund shall be subject to an |
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| 39 | 39 | | 16annual audit by the state auditor. The commissioner of elementary and secondary education shall |
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| 40 | 40 | | 17report annually to the house and senate committees on ways and means and the joint committee |
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| 41 | 41 | | 18on education on income received into the fund and sources of that income, any expenditure from |
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| 42 | 42 | | 19the fund and the purpose of that expenditure and the fund’s balance. Money in the fund at the |
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| 43 | 43 | | 20end of the fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund and shall be available for expenditure |
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| 44 | 44 | | 21in the subsequent year and shall not be subject to section 5C of chapter 29. |
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| 45 | 45 | | 22 SECTION 2. The third paragraph section 1D of chapter 69 of the General Laws, as so |
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| 46 | 46 | | 23appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the words “consumer skills,” in line 38, the |
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| 47 | 47 | | 24following words:- |
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| 48 | 48 | | 25 “food literacy,” |
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| 49 | 49 | | 26 SECTION 3. Chapter 69 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by |
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| 50 | 50 | | 27inserting after section 1T the following section: |
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| 51 | 51 | | 28 Section 1U. (a) Food literacy standards established pursuant to section 1D shall promote |
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| 52 | 52 | | 29an understanding of food systems including, but not limited to: (i) nutrition and the impact of |
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| 53 | 53 | | 30diet on personal health; (ii) culinary skills and menu planning; (iii) food production, including |
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| 54 | 54 | | 31farming, fishing, and processing; (iv) the connections between the food system and the |
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| 55 | 55 | | 32environment; (v) hunger, its causes and efforts to alleviate it; (vi) racial and other inequities in |
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| 56 | 56 | | 33access to food and jobs in the food system; (vii) food justice; (viii) cultural connections to food; |
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| 57 | 57 | | 34(ix) local food producers; and (x) careers in the food system including in the fields of farming, |
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| 58 | 58 | | 35fishing, processing, engineering, transportation, public health, and hunger alleviation. 3 of 3 |
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| 59 | 59 | | 36 (b) A school district, charter school, approved private day or residential school or |
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| 60 | 60 | | 37collaborative school may incorporate the food literacy standards established pursuant to section |
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| 61 | 61 | | 381D and subsection (a) into existing curriculum including, but not limited to, mathematics, |
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| 62 | 62 | | 39science, or history and social sciences. |
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| 63 | 63 | | 40 (c) The department shall make resources, including high quality lessons and curricula, |
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| 64 | 64 | | 41available to school districts, charter schools, approved private day or residential schools and |
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| 65 | 65 | | 42collaborative schools to assist in the selection of materials and curriculum on food literacy. The |
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| 66 | 66 | | 43department shall identify and offer information on resources for professional development |
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| 67 | 67 | | 44activities and instruction on food literacy. The department may consult with private or non-profit |
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| 68 | 68 | | 45experts in the fields of nutrition, agriculture, food systems, food security, or other related fields. |
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| 69 | 69 | | 46 (d) The department may expend funds from the Food Literacy Trust Fund established |
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| 70 | 70 | | 47pursuant to section 35TTT of chapter 10, to implement this section. |
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| 71 | 71 | | 48 (e) There shall annually be a review by the department relative to the implementation of |
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| 72 | 72 | | 49food literacy standards, including a study of food literacy programs offered in the commonwealth |
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| 73 | 73 | | 50to students in kindergarten through grade 12. The commissioner shall consult with the office of |
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| 74 | 74 | | 51the state treasurer to, subject to appropriation, convene a working group consisting of educators |
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| 75 | 75 | | 52experienced in teaching curriculum related to food literacy and any individuals or organizations |
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| 76 | 76 | | 53the department deems relevant with expertise in food systems, including, but not limited to, |
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| 77 | 77 | | 54nutrition, farming, fishing, culinary arts, food justice and food career opportunities. The review |
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| 78 | 78 | | 55shall include a report on best practices and recommended improvements to food literacy |
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| 79 | 79 | | 56standards. The report shall be submitted to the clerks of the house of representatives and the |
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| 80 | 80 | | 57senate and the joint committee on education. |
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