BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 38
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 15, 2013

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

                  AB 38 (John Perez) - As Amended:  March 19, 2013 

          Policy Committee:                              AgricultureVote:7  
          - 0 

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:              

           SUMMARY  

          This bill creates the Office of Farm to Fork within the  
          California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA).   
          Specifically, this bill: 

          1)Creates the Office of Farm to Fork to work with public and  
            private organizations interested in food access to increase  
            the availability of agricultural products to underserved  
            communities.

          2)Creates a Farm to Fork Account in the CDFA Fund.  Requires  
            funds to consist of money made available from federal, state,  
            industry and other sources. 

          3)Continuously appropriates all money deposited in the Farm to  
            Fork Account. 

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          1)In order to properly administer the program, CDFA would likely  
            require two additional staff and over $200,000 per year. It  
            may be that there is funding available through the U.S.  
            Department of Agriculture Specialty Crop Block Grants, the  
            California Healthy Food Financing Initiative, federal  
            Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Education  
            funding or from private foundations to help offset the cost of  
            the program. 

          2)This bill continuously appropriates money deposited in the  
            Farm to Fork Account. The proposed continuous appropriation of  
            funds is generally contrary to committee policy. 








                                                                  AB 38
                                                                  Page  2


           COMMENTS  

           Purpose  . Farm to Fork is a term that encompasses efforts that  
          bring local or regionally produced foods to people who want or  
          need access to these products. Farm to Fork is currently being  
          accomplished in many different ways in California.  It can be  
          seen in farmer's markets, community supported agriculture (CSA),  
          and other venues where people can buy food directly from  
          growers.  Other examples are farm to school programs that  
          increase access and awareness for fresh fruits and vegetables  
          through the use of school gardens and education, and community  
          and urban gardens that help communities grow their own foods.  

          By creating the Office of Farm to Fork within CDFA to coordinate  
          with state and federal agencies, along with private and public  
          organizations, this bill will help streamline Farm to Fork  
          efforts.  The author states CDFA is uniquely situated to  
          administer the office due to CDFA's knowledge of the  
          agricultural industry, and CDFA's ability to bring farmers  
          together with a variety of public and private organizations to  
          increase the supply of healthy food.



           Analysis Prepared by  :    Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081