BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE
Senator Cathleen Galgiani, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 1321 Hearing Date: 7/7/15
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|Author: |Ting |
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|Version: |7/1/15 Amended |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Anne Megaro |
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Subject: Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program.
SUMMARY :
This bill would establish the Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant
Program in the Office of Farm to Fork within the California
Department of Food and Agriculture to encourage the consumption
and purchase of fresh fruits, nuts, and vegetables by connecting
farmers with food assistance recipients.
BACKGROUND AND EXISTING
LAW :
The Office of Farm to Fork was established in 2014 within the
California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to increase
food access and the amount of agricultural products available to
underserved communities and schools in California (Food and
Agricultural Code § 49000 et seq.).
The California Healthy Food Financing Initiative (CHFFI) was
established in 2011 for the purpose of promoting healthy food
access to underserved communities. The CHFFI Council is
required to develop program parameters and financing options to
accomplish this goal (Health and Safety Code §104660 et seq.).
CDFA is responsible for regulating certified farmers' markets
(CFM) and other forms of direct marketing to ensure product
quality and to prevent fraud, deception, or misrepresentation in
the marketplace. Currently, there are nearly 800 CFMs in
California and 3,350 certified farmers selling directly to
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consumers (Food and Agricultural Code §47000 et seq.).
In a 2012 CDFA report to the legislature titled "Improving Food
Access in California," CDFA provided recommendations that
included improving the distribution of fresh produce, expanding
retail options for healthy food, helping low-income consumers
purchase food, and supporting nutritious school meals.
According to this report, the state can use existing
infrastructure and relationships with farmers and food
distributors to increase food access, and the state can
coordinate existing state and federal resources to target them
toward use in underserved communities.
( http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/exec/public_affairs/pdf/ImprovingFoodAcce
ssInCalifornia.pdf )
The state Department of Social Services administers the CalFresh
Program, federally known as the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP; formerly Food Stamp), to provide food
assistance for eligible low-income Californians.
The federal Agricultural Act of 2014 (Farm Bill) was signed into
law on February 7, 2014, and provides $100 million over five
years for a new "Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive" grant
program, administered by USDA, to support organizations offering
bonus incentives to SNAP participants to purchase fruits and
vegetables. The program is not limited to locally grown produce
but does give preference to projects that involve direct
marketing from farmers to consumers, have a demonstrated track
record of implementing successful nutrition incentive programs,
provide local produce, and are located in underserved
communities.
PROPOSED
LAW :
This bill:
1) States findings and declarations related to market match
programs throughout California, the impact on local
agricultural economies, and the availability of federal
funds provided by the Farm Bill to help states create grant
programs that incentivize healthier eating by food
assistance recipients.
2) Establishes the Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant
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Program (Grant Program) in the Office of Farm to Fork to
encourage the consumption and purchase of fresh fruits,
nuts, and vegetables by connecting farmers with food
assistance recipients.
3) Defines "nutrition benefit client" to mean a person who
receives services or payments through WIC, CalWORKS,
CalFresh, WIC Farmers' Market Nutrition Act, Senior
Farmers' Market Nutrition Program, or Supplemental Security
Income.
4) Defines "qualified entity" to mean either 1) a certified
farmers' market, association of certified producers, or a
nonprofit organization representing certified producers and
authorized by USDA to accept federal SNAP benefits; or 2) a
small business that sells California grown fresh fruits,
nuts, and vegetables that is authorized to accept nutrition
benefits.
5) Creates the Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Account
within the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund to
collect matching funds from the federal Food Insecurity
Nutrition Incentives Grant Program and other public and
private sources.
6) Requires that sufficient funds be deposited into the
grant account before the Grant Program becomes operative.
7) Requires the Office of Farm to Fork to establish minimum
standards, funding schedules, and procedures for awarding
grants in consultation with USDA and other stakeholders,
including the State Department of Public Health, State
Department of Social Services, organizations with expertise
in nutrition benefit programs, qualified small business
owners, and certified farmers' market operators.
8) Limits the allocation of Grant Program funds for
qualified small business consumer incentive programs to
one-third of the fund.
9) Requires CDFA to give grant funding priority to
qualified entities based on:
a. The service area and lack of consumer
incentive programs.
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b. Community demographics such as the number of
people who qualify for food assistance, the prevalence
of diet-related illnesses, and access to fresh
produce.
c. Demonstrated efficiency in administering a
consumer incentive program.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT:
According to the author, "AB 1321 builds off the success of
California Market Match, a five-year-old nutrition incentive
program that has operated at over 140 farmers' markets across
the state. The program works by "matching" or doubling the
amount of nutrition benefits, such as the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP) that families can spend at farmers'
markets in order to incentivize them to purchase fresh,
locally-grown fruits and vegetables.
In order to best position local programs to receive these [Farm
Bill nutrition incentive] federal grants, AB 1321 creates a
state Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program to apply for
federal funds and award them to local Market Match programs with
a proven record of success in areas with high prevalence of
diabetes and obesity. Establishing a state framework to oversee
funding of Market Match programs would leverage state resources
to streamline local program administration, and expand Market
Match programs across a more equitable cross-section of
communities to ensure that more Californians can enjoy the
unparalleled bounty of our state's agriculture. By increasing
access to healthy food, we can alleviate poverty and food
insecurity and stimulate economic growth in our communities."
COMMENTS :
Market Match Pilot Program. According to one of the bill's
co-sponsors, Roots of Change, they received four CDFA Specialty
Crop Block grants from 2009-2013 totaling $1.9 million to fund
the California Market Match Consortium's Market Match Pilot
Program. This program's goal was to increase access to fresh
fruits, nuts, and vegetables for consumers using food assistance
programs and to increase the promotion and marketing of
specialty crops at certified farmers' markets, farm stands, and
community-supported agriculture farms. This program operated in
23 counties at 150 markets in 2014 and has generated a six-fold
return on investment in farmers' market sales.
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Is legislation needed? The federal government does not require
states to enact legislation in order to be eligible to receive
funds from the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive grant
program. However, the co-sponsors of this bill argue that with
this legislation, California is better positioned to secure
available federal matching funds.
RELATED
LEGISLATION :
AB 2413 (Perez), Chapter 583, Statutes of 2014. Creates the
Office of Farm to Fork within CDFA to, among other things,
promote food access and increase the amount of agricultural
products available to underserved communities and schools within
California.
AB 2385 (Ting) of 2014. Would have created the Market Match
Nutrition Incentive Program within the California Department of
Food and Agriculture. Held in Assembly Appropriations.
AB 581 (Pérez), Chapter 505, Statutes of 2011. Creates the
California Healthy Food Financing Initiative for the purpose of
promoting healthy food access to underserved communities.
PRIOR
ACTIONS :
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|Assembly Floor: |61 - 16 |
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|Assembly Appropriations Committee: |12 - 1 |
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|Assembly Agriculture Committee: |7 - 1 |
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SUPPORT :
Ecology Center (Co-Sponsor)
Latino Coalition for a Healthy California (Co-sponsor)
Public Health Institute (Co-Sponsor)
Roots of Change (Co-Sponsor)
Agricultural Commissioner of the City and County of San
Francisco
Agricultural Institute of Marin
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Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association
AltaMed Health Services Corporation
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
American Heart Association/American Stroke Association
Ashland Cherryland Food Policy Council
Berkeley Food Institute
Building Healthy Communities: Long Beach
California Alliance of Farmers' Markets
California Association of Food Banks
California Black Health Network
California Center for Public Health Advocacy
California Certified Organic Farmers
California Commission on Aging
California Convergence
California Equity Leaders Network
California Farm Bureau Federation
California Food Policy Advocates
California Food Policy Council
California Hunger Action Coalition
California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
California Partnership
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
California School Employees Association, AFL-CIO
California Women for Agriculture
Center for Food Safety
City of Maywood
City of Santa Monica
Coastside Farmers' Markets
Community Alliance with Family Farmers
Community Food and Justice Coalition
Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors
Courage Campaign
CUESA
Cultiva la Salud
EnrichLA
Farm Fatales
The Farmers Guild
Feeding America San Diego
First 5 LA
Food Chain Workers Alliance
Food for People, Inc., the Food Bank for Humboldt County
Hunger Action Los Angeles
Hunger Advocacy Network
Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles
Junior Leagues of California State Public Affairs Committee
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Latino Health Alliance
Long Beach Alliance for Food and Fitness
Long Beach Time Exchange
Los Angeles Community Action Network
Los Angeles Food Policy Council
Madera County Agricultural Commissioner
Natural Resources Defense Council
North Coast Growers' Association
Nutrition and Fitness Collaborative of the Central Coast
Orange County Food Access Coalition
Pacific Coast Farmers' Market Association
Plumas-Sierra Community Food Council
PolicyLink
Prevention Institute
Project Angel Food
Sacramento Native American Health Center, Inc.
San Diego Food System Alliance
San Diego Hunger Coalition
San Francisco Food Security Task Force
San Francisco Unified School District
San Francisco Urban Agriculture Alliance
Santa Barbara Food Alliance
Santa Cruz County Agricultural Commissioner
Sebastopol Farmers Market
SF-Marin Food Bank
Slow Food California
Social Justice Learning Institute
Sprouts of Promise
SPUR
St. Anthony Foundation
Strategic Alliance for Healthy Food and Activity Environments
Sustainable Economic Enterprises of Los Angeles
Sustainable Economics Law Center
Thai Community Development Center
UC San Diego, Department of Pediatrics Center for Community
Health
UFCW Western States Council
United Way of Kern County
Urban & Environmental Policy Institute at Occidental College
Volunteers of East Los Angeles
Wellington Square Certified Farmers Market
Western Center on Law and Poverty
Western Growers Association
Women Organizing Resources, Knowledge and Services
The Yolo County Ag & Food Alliance
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Yolo County Board of Supervisors
Youth Policy Institute
One individual
OPPOSITION :
None received
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