Several bills to promote locally grown produce are moving swiftly through the Legislature this session.

Backers say the legislation is aimed at providing New Mexicans with healthier food and improving one of the state's more dismal statistics: New Mexico ranks second in the nation for food insecurity.

Two bills would appropriate $1.44 million for schools to buy more fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables for school lunches.

More than 60 percent of children in New Mexico schools are from low-income families. For many, school lunches are the most nutritional meal they may have all day, said Pam Roy, co-director of New Mexico's nonprofit Farm to Table program and director of the New Mexico Food and Agriculture Policy Council.

The New Mexico School Nutrition Association says more than 30 organizations have signed a petition supporting Senate Bill 207, sponsored by Sen. Pete Campos, D-Las Vegas, and House Bill 164, sponsored by Rep. Rhonda King, D-Stanley. SB 207 is scheduled for a hearing by the Senate Finance Committee today.

The school nutrition program has already helped local farmers provide a couple of fresh produce servings a week to 212,000 New Mexico children in their school lunches. The new funding would provide an additional two servings.

Six New Mexico school districts, including Santa Fe, have been buying fresh fruits and vegetables out of their own budgets for 150,000 school children. Last year, the state Legislature appropriated $85,000 to the Valley Cluster schools in Albuquerque, providing two servings of fresh produce a week to 6,000 students.

In a 2007 statewide study conducted by Farm to Table and the state Department of Agriculture, more than two-thirds of New Mexico's school districts said they are interested in purchasing fruits and vegetables from local farmers. More than 100 of the state's farming families said they would be interested in selling to schools.

School officials say schools have only about $1 to buy food for each lunch tray.

"It's difficult to pay for fresh fruit and vegetable options when you only have a dollar," said Corrine Lovato, food service director for the Pecos School District. "Also for rural school districts like mine, we have less buying power so it costs us more to add fresh produce on the plate."

Rep. Brian K. Moore, R-Clayton, a grocery store owner, is sponsoring another food bill, HB 180, the Manny Herrera Access to Healthy Foods Act.

HB 180 would establish a nine-member board to create policies and a better food-distribution system for bringing healthier foods to low-income and rural communities. Six members would be state department secretaries and three would be appointed by the governor, representing the food policy council, transportation and grocery industries. The bill was approved by two committees, but the House Appropriations and Finance Committee nixed the $10 million appropriation request it contained. HB 180 is scheduled for a House floor vote today.

Another joint food bill, HB 156 and SB 49, would provide low-income seniors with vouchers through the state Department of Health commodity program to buy fresh produce at local farmers markets.

The Legislature provided initial funding to the New Mexico Farmers Market Nutrition Enhancement Program last year. The current bill would provide $28 to 8,000 seniors to buy fresh produce. HB 156 is sponsored by Rep. Don L. Tripp, R-Socorro, and SB 49 is sponsored by Sen. Carlos Cisneros, D-Questa. The bills have been approved by the committees and are ready for floor votes.

In addition to school children and seniors, local farmers are gaining from the interest in locally produced food.

Roy said La Montanita Co-op, which has a Santa Fe store on West Alameda Street, has been working to buy locally. Between January and August last year, the store sold $2.8 million in local or regional produce, she said. Another $500,000 went to local farmers to buy fresh produce for the school program through the state Department of Agriculture and the Public Education Department.

"There's so much demand for New Mexico produce and meats and dairy," Roy said. "People are now at that point they are asking for local food so they can get to know the farmer and know their food is not shipped so far."

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says about 16 percent of New Mexico residents, especially in rural areas, go hungry or have a hard time getting food every day.

"We have people who drive 70 miles one way to reach a grocery store," Roy said. "Studies by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation show the further people have to drive to reach a store or the more number of times they have to switch a bus, the less healthy food they purchase."

Today is school nutrition day at the Capitol, and the bills' supporters will talk at 1 p.m. in the Rotunda about why fresh apples, lettuce and other produce help students and local farmers.

Contact Staci Matlock at 470-9843 or smatlock@sfnewmexican.com.