A healthy option of locally grown

Legislation to help schools and communities connect more directly with locally grown food is a significant bipartisan success of the short session in Olympia.

The "Local Farms — Healthy Kids Act" promotes all Washington-grown food — fruits, vegetables, grains, meat and dairy. The legislation facilitates a farm-to-school program by eliminating bureaucratic impediments to buying local products, including lowest-cost bidding.No school district is required to participate, but others — Seattle and Olympia, for example — have already gained recognition for their efforts to offer students healthier lunches and snacks.

Details will be worked out and administered by the state Department of Agriculture, with the state Superintendent of Public Instruction's Office overseeing a grant program to promote purchases from vendors. Schools spend hundreds of millions of dollars feeding students and there is nothing wrong with keeping more of those tax dollars in the state.

Still, no school district is discouraged from buying bananas and other products grown elsewhere. For the moment, some language of the law would be at odds with U.S. Department of Agriculture rules, but they would go away with the new farm bill pending before Congress.

Dozens of farming-community organizations, anti-poverty and children's welfare groups, and teaching, faith and parents groups worked for passage of the bill. As our sister paper, the Yakima Hearld-Republic, noted, "It's a win for everyone." A celebratory editorial noted the overwhelming support of Republicans and farmers.

Healthy students and a healthy agricultural industry are vital to the state. The legislation mandates no changes in behavior, but creates opportunities for schools and other groups artificially restrained from local options.