BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE on AGRICULTURE
Senator Cathleen Galgiani, Chair
BILL NO: AB 2413 HEARING: 06/17/14
AUTHOR: John A. Pérez FISCAL: Yes
VERSION: 02/21/14 CONSULTANT: Anne Megaro
The Office of Farm to Fork
SUMMARY :
This bill would create the Office of Farm to Fork within the
Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to, among other
things, promote food access and increase the amount of
agricultural products available to underserved communities and
schools within California.
BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW :
The concept of "farm to fork" is gaining nationwide interest as
a means to bring fresh, healthy foods from the farm directly to
consumers, restaurants, food banks, farmers' markets, and other
retail food outlets. A broad and loosely defined term, the
overarching purpose of the farm-to-fork movement is to connect
consumers and farmers, create infrastructure for food
distribution, and improve food access.
Existing law establishes the California Healthy Food Financing
Initiative (CHFFI) 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.).
Existing law directs CDFA to develop recommendations for actions
to be taken to promote food access. In a 2012 report,
recommendations 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 )
PROPOSED LAW :
AB 2413 - Page 2
This bill:
1. States findings and declarations regarding access of
healthy food for disadvantaged urban and rural communities,
the prevalence of chronic health conditions related to poor
diets in these communities, the current organizations
seeking to resolve this problem, and the acknowledgment
that CDFA is uniquely situated to address this issue on a
statewide level.
2. Creates the Office of Farm to Fork within CDFA that
shall work with the agricultural industry, direct marketing
organizations, food policy councils, public health groups,
nonprofit and philanthropic organizations, academic
institutions, district agricultural associations,
government agencies, and other organizations involved in
promoting food access.
3. Requires the Office of Farm to Fork to do all of the
following:
a. Work with stakeholders to identify urban and
rural communities that lack access to healthy food,
determine current barriers, and share information to
encourage best practices.
b. Coordinate with governmental agencies to
increase awareness of programs promoting greater food
access.
c. Promote retail sale of healthy foods in
underserved communities, including promoting the use
of CalFresh and WIC benefits at farmers' markets,
supporting urban agriculture, and increasing the
quantity and quality of retail food stores.
d. Foster partnerships among community partners.
e. Identify distribution barriers that affect
food access and overcome those barriers by encouraging
food hubs, coordinating institutional food-buying
practices, and increasing access to resources such as
the California Healthy Food Financing Initiative.
f. Identify opportunities and provide assistance
for collaboration between farmers and food banks or
AB 2413 - Page 3
other nonprofit organizations to distribute
agricultural products to reduce hunger and increase
access to healthy foods.
g. Identify opportunities to collaborate with
community organizations to provide cooking and
nutrition classes to underserved residents.
h. Coordinate with school districts to encourage
best purchasing practices, increase nutrition in
schools, and increase access to nutrition education.
4. Creates the Farm to Fork Account within the Department
of Food and Agriculture Fund that shall consist of monies
made available from federal, state, industry,
philanthropic, and private sources, and be appropriated
continuously without regard to fiscal year to carry out
purposes of the above provisions.
COMMENTS :
Need for this bill: According to the author, this bill "Creates
the Office of Farm to Fork within the California Department of
Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to work with various entities
including the agricultural industry, direct marketing
organizations, food policy councils, public health groups,
schools, district agricultural associations, county, state and
federal agencies and other organizations involved in promoting
food access in order to increase the amount of agricultural
products available to schools and underserved communities."
Current efforts are underway by a variety of public and private
entities to achieve the goal of increasing food access. It has
been argued that CDFA has the expertise, relationships, and
infrastructure to further these efforts through a collaborative
statewide program. According to the 2012 CDFA report previously
referenced, "Government and private efforts to increase food
access are already underway at the federal, state, and local
levels. In order to harmonize these efforts and avoid
duplication, the state can take an active role in coordinating
efforts and sharing information among the various entities
working to increase food access. CHFFI can serve to facilitate
this coordination and make sure communities have partners at the
table and that they are connected to the appropriate funding
sources."
AB 2413 - Page 4
RELATED LEGISLATION :
AB 38 (Pérez) of 2013. Would create 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. Held
under submission in the Assembly Committee on 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 :
Assembly Floor 75-0
Assembly Appropriations 16-0
Assembly Agriculture 7-0
SUPPORT :
American Academy of Pediatrics, California
Association of California Healthcare Districts
Rural County Representatives of California
OPPOSITION :
None received