New law signed by Gov. Newsom requires California schools to serve only American-grown food

Come Jan. 1 2024, California schools will have to serve only food grown in the United Sates unless its costs more than 25% of imported products under a new law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Senate Bill 490, sponsored by Sen. Anna Caballero, D-Salinas, requires California public institutions, including schools, to budget for and purchase domestic-made foods, the Sacramento Bee reported. Caballero has said the state’s allocated $611.8 million to help school districts cover the extra cost, according to the newspaper. A spokesperson for the senator told the Bee the law does not contain an enforcement provision and schools will be asked to comply with it on an honor code.

The governor said in a signing  statement that the “Buy American policy will benefit the California agricultural industry and agricultural workers, as well as the students and teachers consuming these meals in our schools.”

A spokesman for the California School Boards Association told the Bee that school-district meal costs have increased because of the state’s new Universal Meal System and that district’s may need additional funding.