A “farm to table” grocer in Scott County supports a grant program to help businesspeople such as herself.

“The heart of the home is the kitchen. Food brings everybody together,” said Jenny Sauer-Schmidgall. “I would like to see if we can actually make this concept a heart of a community and help the community.”

Sauer-Schmidgall, owner of Grab n’ Grow Greenhouse in Riggston, spoke in favor of a bill sponsored by State Sen. Doris Turner (D-Springfield).

At the same statehouse news conference, State Sen. Dave Koehler (D-Peoria) proposed another grant program, this one to incentivize the purchase of, say, local processing equipment, saying, “We don’t need to have our food come from 2,000. We’ve got the richest fertile ground right here in Illinois.”

Two other lawmakers touted school food programs, one for free “breakfast after the bell,” the other for free breakfast and lunch for all K-12 students.