BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2602
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Date of Hearing: April 30, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE
Susan Talamantes Eggman, Chair
AB 2602 (Eggman) - As Amended: April 21, 2014
SUBJECT : Farm to School Program.
SUMMARY : Establishes the Farm to School (F2S) Program within
the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to
provide grants and technical assistance to school districts and
county offices of education (COE) to develop and maintain F2S
programs. Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes findings and declarations regarding obesity and the
health problems obesity can cause. Further, finds and
declares that F2S programs could increase access to California
grown vegetables and fruits, and provide school districts the
opportunity to update their kitchen supplies to meet new
federal nutritional guidelines, as specified.
2)Defines a F2S Program as a program that connects schools and
California farms with the objective of serving healthy meals
in school cafeterias, improving pupil nutrition, and providing
agriculture, health, and nutrition educational opportunities.
3)Requires the Secretary of CDFA (secretary) to convene an
interagency working group on increasing the provision of fresh
and nutritious school meals to pupils that includes, but is
not limited to, representatives of CDFA, the California
Department of Education (CDE), and the State Department of
Public Health (DPH). Requires the working group to advise the
secretary on all of the following:
a) Effective and efficient means of encouraging school
districts and COE to develop a F2S program; and,
b) The availability of various resources and technical
assistance to help school districts and COE in establishing
and maintaining F2S programs.
4)Requires the secretary, CDE, and DPH to use existing resources
to comply with the requirements imposed on the agencies
pursuant to this bill.
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5)Allows an eligible school district or COE to apply, on behalf
of an elementary school, to CDFA, in a manner determined by
the secretary, for a grant to develop and maintain a F2S
program.
6)Defines an eligible school to mean a school that serves pupils
in pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, or grades one through six,
and the school district or COE has an average of at least 65%
of pupils who are eligible to receive free or reduced-price
meals.
7)Requires the application, at a minimum, to include, but is not
limited to, the following information:
a) The identity of each school at which a F2S program is
located;
b) The intended items to be purchased, the overall cost of
the items, and other sources of funding, if any; and,
c) A description of how the funds will be used to meet the
objectives of a F2S program.
8)Requires the secretary to distribute the grants awarded to
eligible school districts or COE as follows:
a) The maximum grant for any school shall be $5,000;
b) No school district or COE shall be awarded more than 10%
of overall funds unless the secretary determines there is
insufficient demand from other COE or school districts;
and,
c) Funds may be used for the following purposes:
i) The development of salad bars;
ii) Staff training related to the preparation of fresh
foods;
iii) Food literacy education, including, but not limited
to, through farms and gardens; or,
iv) Kitchen equipment related to the preparation of
fresh foods.
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9)Requires that districts or COE that receive F2S funds, within
six months of the final expenditure of funds received pursuant
to this bill, report to the secretary, as specified, regarding
the use of funds.
10)Authorizes a school district or COE to submit one report for
all the schools that have received grants that are under the
jurisdiction of the school district or COE.
11)Specifies that the implementation of a F2S program is
contingent upon appropriation of funds by the Legislature.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires each school district or county superintendent of
schools maintaining any kindergarten, or any of grades one
through 12, to provide for each pupil, as specified, one
nutritionally adequate free or reduced-price meal during each
school day, except for family day care homes that shall be
reimbursed for 75% of the meals served.
2)Requires the governing board of a school district and the
county superintendent of schools to make applications for free
or reduced price meals available to students at all times
during each regular school day. Requires the application to
contain specified information.
3)Establishes the California Fresh Start Pilot Program to
encourage public schools to provide fruits and vegetables that
have not been deep fried to pupils in the School Breakfast
Program (SBP). Provides a reimbursement of ten cents per meal
to school sites that offer one to two servings of nutritious
fruits or vegetables for breakfast.
4)Requires, as a condition for state funds for free and reduced
price meals, a school to follow the Enhanced Food Based Meal
Pattern, Nutrient Standard Meal Planning, or Traditional Meal
Pattern developed by the United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA) or the Menu Patterns developed by the
state.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown.
COMMENTS : The author states that nutrition is instrumental,
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especially in early childhood, to the cognitive development of
children. Research has shown that children who suffer from
nutrient deficiency perform lower in academics than their
counterparts. In the United States, one in three children
suffer from obesity, which can lead to a variety of health
problems. School meal programs are one way to address some of
these issues.
School meal programs are funded predominantly by USDA and
supplemented by state funds. According to CDE, on an average
day in California, more than 4.7 million meals are served at
approximately 43,000 locations. USDA provides $5 million
annually for the Federal Farm to School Grant Program to improve
access to local foods in eligible schools nationwide. The
grants provide between $15,000 to $100,000 that can be used for
training, supporting operations, planning, purchasing equipment,
developing school gardens, developing partnerships, and
implementing F2S programs.
According to CDE, California was one of the first states to
establish local F2S programs. Examples of these local F2S
programs include establishing school gardens (used for
educational and food program purposes), districts purchasing
local and seasonal produce for prepared meals, and introducing
or expanding salad bars with local products.
In 2013, the federal Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act updated
nutritional guidelines for school meals to address the high
rates of obesity amongst children. In California, nearly 90% of
schools are meeting these new federal guidelines. However, some
school districts are still facing obstacles in providing healthy
meals to Californian students. A recent survey found that one
in three school districts reported lacking adequate kitchen
supplies necessary to prepare a greater variety of fruits and
vegetables for schools meals. According to the author, this
bill would provide school districts with the resources to update
their kitchen supplies to meet new federal guidelines, as well
as preparing a greater proportion and variety of healthy food to
their student body.
PREVIOUS RELATED LEGISLATION :
AB 909 (Alejo) of 2012 would have established the Farm to School
Program. The bill authorizes a school district to submit an
application to CDE for reimbursement of five cents for every
meal the district serves as part of the USDA meal program, if at
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least 80% of the expenditure for fresh produce for use in its
food service program is derived from California produce. The
bill was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee suspense
file.
AB 967 (Nava) of 2007 would have established the Farm Fresh
Schools program, which provides specified grants to school
districts to promote the consumption of locally grown fruits and
vegetables in public schools. The bill was held in the Assembly
Appropriations Committee suspense file.
SB 281 (Maldonado), Chapter 236, Statutes of 2005, establishes
the California Fresh Start Pilot Program to encourage public
schools to provide fruits and vegetables that have not been deep
fried to pupils in the SBP. The bill appropriated $400,000 to
provide a reimbursement of ten cents per meal to school sites
that offer one to two servings of nutritious fruits or
vegetables for breakfast.
AB 826 (Nava) of 2005 would have established the California Farm
to School Child Nutrition Improvement Program, which requires
CDE, to the extent funds are available from identified sources,
and in collaboration with DFA and DHS to implement outreach and
training of school food service personnel and the agricultural
industry, in order to facilitate the delivery of fresh fruits
and vegetables to school cafeterias. The bill was vetoed by
Governor Schwarzenegger.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Catholic Conference of Bishops
California Farm Bureau Federation
California Food Policy Advocates
California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
California School Employees Association
County Health Executives Association of California
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Victor Francovich / AGRI. / (916)
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