An N.C. House bill has reached the House floor that would mandate the availability of muscadine grape juice in all public K-12 schools, colleges and universities.
House Bill 67, titled “Encourage Healthy NC Food in Schools,” has Rep. Julia Howard, R-Davie, as primary sponsor.
The bill was recommended Tuesday by both the House K-12 Education and Rules and Operations committees.
The mandate would begin at the start of the 2023-24 school year if the bill is signed into law.
A buyback proposal may be the spark needed for HB67’s passage.
Yet, the outstanding question remains — can you get students to drink a sweet juice compared with the typical apple and orange juice offerings?
Both bills require the State Board of Education, local boards of education and charter schools to mandate that all public K-12 schools provide muscadine grape juice. Not only would the schools’ nutrition and lunch programs have to offer muscadine grape juice, but also school vending machines.
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Community colleges and public universities would also be required to offer the juice in vending machines.
Davie is the home of Mighty Muscadine of Advance, which is affiliated with Le Bleu bottled water, and Vine Life Products of Bermuda Run, both of which promote muscadine grapes for food, health and wellness purposes.
Mighty Muscadine is owned by Jerry Smith. Smith provided Howard with a $2,700 political donation in 2016, according to opensecrets.org.
The measure — also known as the “Encourage Healthy NC Food in Schools” bill — is very similar to language in House Bill 136, which overwhelmingly cleared the House in March 2021 only to be shelved by the Senate for the remainder of the 2021 and 2022 sessions.
The “buyback” component in HB 67 involves the Food Distribution Division of the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
The division would be required to include in contracts or purchasing agreements for packaged fruit products “that the supplier will buy back from the (state) Farm to School program unopened and unexpired products returned by school nutrition programs.”
The school nutrition programs would then be credited for the returns.
“I want you to remember just one thing: We don’t grow oranges in North Carolina,” Howard said. “We grow grapes, and that is what will help our growers and producers.”
Rep. Larry Pittman, a Cabarrus County Republican, isn’t exactly convinced.
“I can appreciate the desire to provide healthy options to children in school, but I see the word ‘shall’ in this bill,” Pittman said. “This is like creating a market that I don’t think is our responsibility.”
