(30 ILCS 595/20)
Sec. 20. Responsibilities of the Local Food, Farms, and Jobs Council. The responsibilities of the Local Food, Farms, and Jobs Council include, but are not limited to, the following:
(a) To assist State agencies, State-owned facilities, and other entities with the purchase of local farm or food products and with tracking and reporting of such purchases in order to meet the goals established in Section 10 of this Act.
(b) To assist local farm and food entrepreneurs to identify and secure necessary resources and equipment to begin, maintain, and expand projects and networks necessary for the development of local farm or food products; provided, however, that it is the intent of this Act that the Local Food, Farms, and Jobs Council will facilitate program start-ups and then relinquish rights, benefits, and control within a reasonably short duration of time.
(c) To facilitate the building of infrastructure, including aggregation, processing, storage, packaging, and distribution facilities necessary to move local farm or food products to local and other markets.
(d) To support and expand programs that recruit, train, and provide technical assistance to Illinois farmers and residents in order to encourage the production of local farm or food products.
(e) To coordinate interagency policies, initiatives, and procedures promoting local farm and food products in Illinois communities, by working with and involving State, federal, and local agencies, as well as community based organizations, educational institutions, and trade organizations in executing the purposes of this Act.
(f) To facilitate the elimination of legal barriers hindering the development of a local farm and food economy by working with federal, State, and local public health agencies, other agencies and applicable entities, and the Illinois Attorney General to create consistent and compatible regulations for the production, storage, distribution, and marketing of local farm or food products.
(g) To facilitate the use of public lands for growing local farm or food products by working with governmental entities at the local, State, and federal levels.
(h) To set annual goals for all purchases of local farm or food products by Illinois residents and to monitor the development and expansion of a local farm and food economy through data collection, tracking, measurement, analysis, and reporting on progress made in an annual report to the Illinois General Assembly.
(i) To develop, in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture, a label and certification program different than the "Illinois Product" label program, whereby a label with a specific name and unique design or logo may be placed on local farm and food products.
(j) To initiate and facilitate public awareness campaigns about the economic benefits of a local farm and food economy.
(Source: P.A. 96-579, eff. 8-18-09.)
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Last modified: February 18, 2015