AB 2602, as introduced, Eggman. Farm to School Program.
Existing law requires the State Department of Education to ensure that the nutrition levels of meals served to schoolage children pursuant to the federal National School Lunch Act be of the highest quality and greatest nutritional value possible.
This bill would establish the Farm to School Program, to be administered by the Department of Food and Agriculture, to provide for the allocation of grants and technical assistance to school districts and county offices of education for the purpose of increasing the provision of fresh and nutritious school meals to pupils. The bill would authorize the Secretary of Food and Agriculture to distribute grants to eligible school districts and county offices of education for the purpose of developing and maintaining a Farm to School program, and would authorize grants of up to $2,500 for a schoolsite with less than 1,000 enrolled pupils, and, for schoolsites with 1,000 or more enrolled pupils, would authorize grants of up to $5,000 per schoolsite. The bill would require a school district or county office of education that receives a grant pursuant to those provisions to comply with specified reporting requirements. The bill would require the secretary to convene an interagency working group on increasing the provision of fresh and nutritious school meals to pupils that includes representatives of the Department of Food and Agriculture, the State Department of Education, and the State Department of Health Care Services. The bill would make the implementation of the Farm to School Program contingent upon appropriation by the Legislature for those purposes.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
The Legislature finds and declares all of the
2following:
3(a) The lack of access to nutritious food has led to a rise in
4obesity among children, which now affects one out of every three
5children in the United States. Obesity can lead to a variety of health
6problems, such as type II diabetes, high blood pressure, and
7elevated cholesterol levels. Farm to School programs could increase
8access to fresh local vegetables and fruits, specifically in urban,
9low-income, and rural communities.
10(b) In 2013, federal nutritional standards for foods sold in
11schools were updated to comply with the improved nutritional
12standards of the federal Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010.
13In
California, 89.1 percent of schools are meeting these new meal
14standards. However, California schools are still facing obstacles
15in providing healthy meals to pupils, including a lack of adequate
16kitchen supplies.
17(c) Farm to School program funding could provide school
18districts with the opportunity to update their kitchen supplies to
19meet new federal guidelines, and prepare a greater amount and
20variety of fruits and vegetables.
Article 10 (commencing with Section 590) is added
22to Chapter 3 of Part 1 of Division 1 of the Food and Agricultural
23Code, to read:
24
(a) The Farm to School Program is hereby established
28for the purpose of increasing the provision of fresh and nutritious
P3 1school meals to pupils through the allocation of grants and the
2provision of technical assistance to school districts and county
3offices of education. The program shall be administered by the
4department.
5(b) The secretary shall convene an interagency working group
6on increasing the provision of fresh and nutritious school meals
7to pupils that includes, but is not limited to, representatives of the
8Department of Food and Agriculture, the State Department of
9Education, and the State Department of Health Care Services. The
10working group shall advise the secretary on all of the following:
11(1) Effective and efficient means of encouraging school districts
12and county offices of education to develop a farm to school
13program.
14(2) The availability of state and nonstate resources and technical
15assistance to help school districts and county offices of education
16in establishing and maintaining farm to school programs.
17(c) The secretary shall use existing resources to comply with
18this section.
19(d) The State Department of Education and the State Department
20of Health Care Services shall use existing resources to comply
21with subdivision (b).
(a) An eligible school district or county office of
23education may apply to the secretary, in a manner determined by
24the secretary, for a grant to develop and maintain a Farm to School
25program under this article.
26(b) A school district or county office of education is eligible to
27apply for the grant if the schoolsite to which the funds will go
28meets one of the following criteria:
29(1) The median household income for the schoolsite is 200
30percent or less of the federal poverty guidelines.
31(2) The schoolsite is located in an area of high unemployment.
32(c) The
application, at a minimum, shall include, but is not
33limited to, the following information:
34(1) The identity of each school at which a farm to school
35program is to be located.
36(2) The grade level or grade levels to be targeted.
37(3) The number of pupils who would use the Farm to School
38program.
39(4) The proposed menu changes for each participating school.
40(5) The intended items of expenditure for the funds received.
P4 1(d) The application also shall include an explanation of the
2six-month reporting requirement specified in Section 593.
The secretary shall distribute the grants awarded to eligible
4school districts or county offices of education in accordance with
5the following:
6(a) For a schoolsite with an enrollment of less than 1,000 pupils,
7the grant shall be no more than two thousand five hundred dollars
8($2,500) per schoolsite.
9(b) For a schoolsite with an enrollment of 1,000 or more pupils,
10the grant shall be no more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) per
11schoolsite.
(a) As a condition of the receipt of funds pursuant to this
13article, within six months of the final expenditure of funds received
14pursuant to this article, a school district or county office of
15education shall report to the secretary, in conjunction with the
16interagency working group convened pursuant to subdivision (b)
17of Section 590, in a manner prescribed by the secretary, regarding
18the use of funds, including how the funds were used to improve
19access to fresh and nutritious meals served by the participating
20school or schools.
21(b) A school district or county office of education may submit
22one report for all of the schools that have received grants that are
23under the jurisdiction of the school district or county office of
24education.
The implementation of the provisions of this article is
26contingent upon appropriation of funds by the Legislature for those
27purposes.
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