Office of Farm to Fork: Healthy Food for California Public Institutions Program., the official text

An act to add Chapter 14.6 (commencing with Section 49026) to Division 17 of the Food and Agricultural Code, relating to food and agriculture.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

Existing law creates the Office of Farm to Fork within the Department of Food and Agriculture, and requires the office, to the extent that resources are available, to work with various entities, including, among others, the agricultural industry and other organizations involved in promoting food access, to increase the amount of agricultural products available to underserved communities and schools in the state.
This bill would require the office, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to establish the California Healthy Food Procurement Fund Program for purposes of cultivating equity, nurturing students, building climate resilience, supporting California agriculture, and creating scalable and sustainable change in the school food system. The bill would require that the program increase procurement of healthy food products, including for institutions serving pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive. The bill would require the office, to the extent that funding is available, to implement initiatives under the program, including, but not limited to, an initiative that would, among other things, provide funding to approved vendors to procure only food products that are whole or are minimally processed and are grown or produced in California using climate-smart agriculture practices and climate-smart agriculture production systems, as specified. The bill would create the California Healthy Food Procurement Account in the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund, consisting of moneys from federal, state, industry, philanthropic, and private sources, which the bill would make available to the department upon appropriation by the Legislature for the purposes of the program.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.
Chapter 14.6 (commencing with Section 49026) is added to Division 17 of the Food and Agricultural Code, to read:
14.6.
California Healthy Food Procurement Act49026.
This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the California Healthy Food Procurement Act.

49027.
For purposes of this chapter, both of the following definitions apply:
(a) “Office” means the Office of Farm to Fork created pursuant to Section 49001.
(b) “Program” means the California Healthy Food Procurement Fund Program established pursuant to Section 49028.

49028.
(a) Upon an appropriation by the Legislature for purposes of this chapter, the Office of Farm to Fork shall establish the California Healthy Food Procurement Fund Program for purposes of cultivating equity, nurturing students, building climate resilience, supporting California agriculture, and creating scalable and sustainable change in the school food system. The program shall increase the procurement of healthy foods, including for institutions serving pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive.
(b) To the extent that funding is available, the office shall implement initiatives under the program, including, but not limited to, an initiative to do all of the following:
(1) Provide funding to approved vendors to procure only food products that are whole or are minimally processed, and are grown or produced in California using climate-smart agriculture practices and climate-smart agriculture production systems, so that the approved vendors can contract with institutions serving pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, to deliver procured food products at no cost.
(2) Establish an application process to approve vendors that meet all of the following requirements:
(A) The vendor sources and distributes food products that are whole or are minimally processed, and are grown or produced in California using climate-smart agriculture practices and climate-smart agriculture production systems. If the vendor sources food products from multiple farms and ranches, 50 percent or more of the total farmers and ranchers that the vendor sources food products from are California farms and ranches using climate-smart agriculture practices and climate-smart agriculture production systems.
(B) The vendor serves institutions serving pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive.
(C) The vendor tracks and readily provides itemized source identification information, including the farm or ranch of origin, and certifications to the office.
(D) The vendor keeps records of purchase invoices from sourced farms and ranches. After a vendor is approved, the vendor may be subject to an audit of its purchasing.
(E) The vendor aligns with the priorities of the office.
(F) The vendor maintains robust compliance that ensures the farms and ranches that the vendor sources food products from comply with all laws, rules, and regulations, including food safety, labor, and environmental requirements and standards.
(3) Publish the list of approved vendors on the department’s internet website, including the region that each vendor serves and their contact information.
(4) Conduct outreach to institutions serving pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, to promote contracting with approved vendors.
(5) Ensure that vendors throughout the state are selected. The office may establish limits on vendor participation to maintain a competitive and diverse marketplace.

49029.
The California Healthy Food Procurement Account is hereby created in the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund. The account shall consist of moneys from federal, state, industry, philanthropic, and private sources. Moneys in the account shall be available to the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the purposes of the program.

49030.
Within one year of the office establishing the program, and every three years thereafter, the office shall submit a report on the status of the program to the Legislature, in accordance with Section 9795 of the Government Code. The report shall include information on the progress of the program, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(a) The number and type, with respect to size, ownership, and production practices, of farms and ranches from which food products were sourced.
(b) The number and type of institutions served by approved vendors, and the volumes of food products provided to each institution.
(c) The number and type, with respect to business model, of vendors providing food products to institutions.
(d) The amount of funds distributed to each vendor and to each institution.