SPRINGFIELD, IL – OAK PARK, IL - State Senator Linda Holmes (D-Aurora) joined state and local officials at a press conference Saturday morning where Governor Quinn signed into law Senate Bill 615. Holmes is the chief-sponsor of the legislation which creates a farm-to-school database to facilitate the purchase of fresh produce and food products by schools.

"Ensuring that schools have direct access to quality produce is a simple way to help reduce the growing epidemic of childhood obesity," Holmes said. "Childhood obesity contributes to a myriad of diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer. In addition, much of the produce that is consumed in Illinois is injected with unhealthy preservatives so that it can travel across the country without spoiling. We want to provide fresh, local produce to our students that is healthier and more readily available. It will also help reduce food costs for the school districts and support our local agrarian economy. It is a win-win for all parties involved."

Holmes' legislation amends the Local Food, Farms, and Jobs Act which was created by the General Assembly last spring. The new law directs the Department of Agriculture to work jointly with the Local Food, Farms, and Jobs Council to develop a database to facilitate the purchase of produce by school districts from local farmers. The database will allow schools to identify and contact agricultural producers that are interested in supplying schools with fresh produce and food products and in turn, assist farmers looking to identify schools that are interested in purchasing their products.

Given the current economic climate, state resources are strained across all areas of the state budget. Realizing the severity of the State's fiscal condition, Holmes drafted the legislation to become effective once the Department of Agriculture has secured all of the funding necessary to implement the database.

"This is an important initiative that we are undertaking, but we need to ensure that it is not placing undue hardship on the school districts and the Department of Agriculture," Holmes said. "I am confident that we will be able to implement this new resource in the near future, providing nutritional value to our schools and much needed revenue to our local farmers."