A day after his Healthy Schools for Healthy Lives Act unanimously passed the House Appropriations Committee, state Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Adam Putnam sat down with Sunshine State News to talk about the legislation and his first 100 days in his new position.
I view nutrition, energy and water as the three areas that will shape the future of agriculture, said Bartow native and University of Florida graduate Adam Putnam.
Certainly the Healthy Schools for Healthy Lives legislation wouldfit into the first part of Putnams vision.
The commissioner, who at just 36 had already served four years in the state House and 10 years in Congress before he was elected to his current post in November, agrees that America is suffering from an obesity epidemic and hopes that his proposal, which would rely on local farmers to work with school districts to include more fruits and vegetables in school breakfast and lunch programs, will help to reduce this in children.
The proposal would also switch control over school lunch programs from the state Department of Education to Putnams department.
'Weve seenan explosion in the number of children and adults who are obese, said Putnam, who argued that his proposal would save costs in the short-run and could help combat mounting Medicaid and other health costs related to the increasingly unhealthy population.
"We can dramatically increase the number of fruits and vegetables in school lunch programs, he said, pointing to studies indicating that more than 70 percent of children in America are overweight. We can create lifelong healthy eating habits.
Putnam also highlighted the role that the program and community- and school-based gardens can play in building students' healthy eating habits. He added that these programs have done well across the state, pointing to successes in Pinellas County, one of the most urban counties in the Sunshine State. He compares the school gardens to lesson plans, empathizing that students can focus on math, economics, biology and life sciences.
The commissioner expressed his hope to reconnect Floridians and farmers, saying there are false barriers between agriculture and consumers. When asked if he sees the Healthy Schools for Healthy Lives Act as helping eradicate those barriers, Putnam said he did, pointing to the cooperation between farmers and school districts as well as the educational opportunities for children.
Putnam appeared confident that the legislation would pass, noting there is little opposition emerging to it in either the House or the Senate.
The bill will now move to the floor, where the Florida House of Representatives will be able to lend its support to this legislation that will put more fresh fruits and vegetables in our school cafeterias, he noted after the measure passed the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday.
Looking to the future, Putnam said that his focus, if the measure is passed, will be to implement the Healthy Schools for Healthy Lives Act.
Our immediate focus is on a seamless transition so there is no negative impact felt by the shareholders, said Putnam as he mulled over implementing the bill.
He also mentioned other challenges, stressing that water requirements would need to be addressed, calling it the biggest long-term issue facing Florida.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
