BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2413
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Date of Hearing: April 30, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE
Susan Talamantes Eggman, Chair
AB 2413 (Pérez, John A.) - As Introduced: February 21, 2014
SUBJECT : The Office of Farm to Fork.
SUMMARY : Creates the Office of Farm to Fork (OF2F) within the
California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to work
with various groups and organizations involved in promoting food
access, to increase the amount of agricultural products
available to schools and underserved communities in the state.
Specifically, this bill :
1. Makes the following legislative declarations and
findings:
a. Some Californians lack access to healthy food,
especially people in disadvantaged communities, and
states the health issues that arise from this
situation. Furthermore, there is no single agency to
coordinate the numerous public and private
organizations who work on food access issues; and,
b. A state level office to coordinate and
facilitate food access can increase efficiency in food
access programs. Furthermore, CDFA is well situated
to house an OF2F, due to its expertise with the
agricultural community and its ability to bring
farmers together with those who need access to healthy
foods.
2. Creates OF2F to work with public and private
organizations interested in food access to increase the
availability of agricultural products to underserved
communities.
3. Creates a Farm to Fork (F2F) account in the CDFA fund.
Requires funds to consist of money made available from
federal, state, industry and other sources.
4. Allows funds deposited in the F2F account to be used for
OF2F, without regard to fiscal year.
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EXISTING LAW establishes the California Healthy Food Financing
Initiative for the purpose of promoting healthy food access in
the state.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. Legislative Counsel has keyed this
bill fiscal.
COMMENTS : F2F is a term that encompasses efforts that bring
local or regionally produced foods to people who want or need
access to these products. F2F 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.
At the state level, many different agencies are working on F2F
issues:
1)CDFA works with farmers' markets, CSA and other direct
marketing to close the gap between farmer and consumer, and
through the specialty grant program, has promoted farm to
school programs, CSAs, and community fresh foods networks.
2)California Department of Education's Farm to School programs
connect schools with local farms with the objectives of
serving healthy meals in school cafeterias, improving student
nutrition, providing health and nutrition education
opportunities, and supporting local small farmers.
3)Department of Public Health has a wide variety of programs
dedicated to helping Californians eat healthier, including
more local fruits and vegetables. Programs include:
Children's Power Play! Campaign, which promotes exercise and
increases the servings of fresh fruits and vegetables, and the
Local Food and Nutrition Education program, which provides
nutrition education and promotes access to healthy food.
By creating the OF2F within CDFA to coordinate with state and
federal agencies, along with private and public organizations,
this bill will help streamline F2F efforts. CDFA is uniquely
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situated to administer OF2F 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.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file.
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Victor Francovich / AGRI. / (916)
319-2084