SEVEN of the island’s 40 public school cafeterias will soon see fresh, locally-grown produce in their school menus after the Guam Department of Education, the Department of Defense’s DLA Troop Support Guam Area Office (DLA), and Quality Distributors, DLA’s prime vendor for food procurement, agreed to source out fruits and vegetables from the Farmer’s Cooperative Association of Guam and International Distributors Inc.
The procurement of produce from local sources is in compliance with Title 5 GCA, Chapter 68 or Public Law 23-18. However, for a period of time, local farmers were unable to sell their produce directly to the schools, according to a news release from Sen. Aline Yamashita’s office.
According to the provision stipulated in the law, “The Department of Agriculture shall, on a continuing basis, make every effort to ensure that the crops of the farmers and the fish products of the fishermen of Guam are first procured by agencies of the government ... unless the farmer or fisherman has made previous arrangements for sale to other users.”
During the last few months, Yamashita has been actively involved in facilitating the process of building partnerships for this initiative. In fact, in a meeting held July 31, GDOE, DLA and Quality Distributors expressed their commitment to supporting local businesses, including the Guam Farmer’s Cooperative.
Yamashita recently joined key officials from the Farmer’s Co-op, IDI, Department of Agriculture, the Army Veterinarian Food Inspectors and DLA on a tour of Quality Distributors’ processing facility in Big Navy in Sumay to observe operations and to further develop the agreement.
She stated: “This is just the beginning! The partnerships that have been formed are instrumental in improving the economy in support of local small businesses, and in growing our natural resources industry – a tangible economic avenue.
“And just as important is the impact that it will have in providing our students with fresh produce as we try to curb our families’ increasing rates of chronic and life-threatening illnesses."
“This venture will potentially have our farmers become a vital component of economic growth [and] thus support island sustainability,” stated Farmer’s Co-op President Bill McDonald.
Facility
Aside from the agreement, a business plan to develop a facility in Dededo is currently in the works. At the request of the Farmer’s Co-op, Yamashita has been assisting Denise Mendiola Hertslet of the University of Guam-Small Business Development Center in the drafting of the business plan.
According to the news release, the facility will be built through the issuance of Guam HOT Bonds, a move that was supported by Resolution 12-06 from the Mayors’ Council of Guam.
