{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/oregon-selected-for-pilot-program-helping-schools-and-farmers", "Oregon Selected for Pilot Program Helping Schools and Farmers", "2014-12-08", "2014", "2014-12", "Democrat", "House", "OR", "Ron Wyden", "W000779", "www.wyden.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Wyden introduced the program supporting schools\u2019 efforts to procure more local fruits and vegetables\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tMonday, December 8, 2014\n            \n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWashington, DC \u2013 Oregon Senator Ron Wyden today announced that Oregon has been chosen by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as one of eight states in a pilot project that will allow them to increase purchases of locally-grown fruits and vegetables for their school meal programs.\r\nThe Pilot Project for Procurement of Unprocessed Fruits and Vegetables, was introduced by Senator Wyden as an amendment to the Agricultural Act of 2014, also known as the Farm Bill.\r\n\u201cToday\u2019s news is a win for communities and school districts across Oregon who can now offer meals made with the locally grown produce we\u2019re famous for, from apples to zucchini, blueberries to tomatoes and everything in between,\u201d Senator Wyden said. \u201cThis is a win for the local farmers who will gain new customers to buy their fruits and vegetables. And this is a win for the school children who will grow up knowing what fresh produce really tastes like.\u201d\r\nUSDA Foods \u2013 provided by the USDA to schools \u2013 make up about 20 percent of the foods served in schools.\u00a0 States use their USDA Foods allocation to select items from a list of 180 products including fruits, vegetables, lean meats, fish, poultry, rice, low fat cheese, beans, pasta, flour and other whole grain products.\u00a0 This pilot program will allow the selected states to use some of their USDA Foods allocation to buy unprocessed fruits and vegetables directly, instead of going through the USDA Foods program.\r\n\u201cThese demonstration projects will help schools source healthy, local fruits and vegetables for the breakfasts, lunches, or snacks served to students,\u201d Wyden said. \u201cIt is more important today than ever to ensure America\u2019s children have fresh, healthy eating options when they are increasingly exposed to unhealthy, processed foods.\u201d\u00a0\r\nStates were selected based on their demonstrated commitment to farm-to-school efforts, including prior efforts to increase and promote farm-to-school programs in the state, the quantity and variety of growers of local fruits and vegetables in the state on a per capita basis, and the degree to which the state contains a sufficient quantity of local educational agencies of various population sizes and geographic locations.\u00a0\r\nOregon farmers and school officials said the pilot project will grow the existing relationships between farmers and schools, with children being the ultimate beneficiaries.\r\n\u201cI\u2019m thrilled Oregon has been chosen because it will help our schools continue to diversify their local foods purchasing portfolio,\u201d said Michelle Ratcliffe, PhD, Director of Market Development for Farm to Table Initiatives at Truitt Family Foods. \u201cThe happy result is that the pilot will help Oregon's students to achieve, farmers to prosper and communities to thrive.\u201d\r\nOther states chosen for the pilot besides Oregon are California, Connecticut, Michigan, New York, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. For more information about USDA\u2019s efforts, go here. \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPress Contact\n\t\t\t\t\tHank Stern, 503-326-7539", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/oregon-selected-for-pilot-program-helping-schools-and-farmers"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 4.933652002364397, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}