Bill Text: CA AB1321 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-0)
Status: (Passed) 2015-10-02 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 442, Statutes of 2015. [AB1321 Detail]
Download: California-2015-AB1321-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 1321 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 442
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 2, 2015
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 2, 2015
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 2, 2015
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 4, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 31, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 1, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 1, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Ting
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Bonta)
(Principal coauthor: Senator Wolk)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Cristina Garcia, Levine, Perea, and
Rodriguez)
(Coauthors: Senators Hancock and Mitchell)
FEBRUARY 27, 2015
An act to add Chapter 13 (commencing with Section 49010) to
Division 17 of the Food and Agricultural Code, relating to food and
agriculture.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1321, Ting. Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program.
Existing law establishes the Office of Farm to Fork within the
Department of Food and Agriculture, and requires the office, to the
extent that resources are available, to work with various entities,
including, among others, the agricultural industry and other
organizations involved in promoting food access, to increase the
amount of agricultural products available to underserved communities
and schools in the state. Existing law requires the office to, among
other things, identify urban and rural communities that lack access
to healthy food, and to coordinate with local, state, and federal
agencies to promote and increase awareness of programs that promote
greater food access.
This bill would establish the Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant
Program in the Office of Farm to Fork, and would create the Nutrition
Incentive Matching Grant Account in the Department of Food and
Agriculture Fund to collect matching funds received from a specified
federal grant program and funds from other public and private
sources, to encourage the purchase and consumption of California
fresh fruits, nuts, and vegetables by nutrition benefit clients, as
defined. The bill would provide that the program shall only provide
grants upon the deposit of sufficient funds, as specified, into the
account. The bill would require that moneys in the Nutrition
Incentive Matching Grant Account be awarded in the form of grants to
qualified entities, as defined, for consumer incentive programs, as
defined, subject to specified regulations and in accordance with
certain priorities. The bill would require the Office of Farm to Fork
to establish minimum standards, funding schedules, and procedures
for awarding grants, as specified.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) Scaling up the Market Match program throughout the state would
be beneficial to the health of local economies and the state economy
while simultaneously improving the health of the most vulnerable
families throughout California.
(b) Since its inception in 2009, the Market Match program has
encouraged the purchase and consumption of California fresh fruits,
nuts, and vegetables by directly linking California specialty crop
producers with nutrition benefit clients and doubling the purchasing
value of the nutrition assistance received by nutrition benefit
clients when purchasing California fresh fruits, nuts, and
vegetables.
(c) Market Match dollars provide incentives for new consumers to
visit local farmers' markets and purchase healthy produce, benefiting
both their health and the health of local economies.
(d) The Market Match program has acted as an economic stimulus to
local agricultural economies throughout the state by increasing the
number of loyal customers and their purchasing power, including in
food deserts where California fresh fruits, nuts, and vegetables are
scarce.
(e) Data shows that between 2009 and 2012, the Market Match
program increased CalFresh redemption amongst 37,000 new farmers'
market customers at 140 participating farmers' markets in over 16
counties, from 132 percent to 700 percent.
(f) Data shows that Market Match dollars have had a six-fold
return on investment in farmers' market sales.
(g) The Pacific Coast Farmers' Market Association's business
analysis of returns on investment (ROI) for Market Match programs in
2012 held in various areas and cities shows the following rates of
ROI throughout the state:
(1) East Bay and San Francisco: 132 percent ROI.
(2) Long Beach: 257 percent ROI.
(3) Huntington Park: 403 percent ROI.
(4) Davis: 390 percent ROI.
(5) Woodland: 576 percent ROI.
(6) Monterey: 717 percent ROI.
(h) The enactment of the 2014 federal Farm Bill includes $100
million in grants to states for programs that supplement nutrition
benefits if they incentivize healthier eating by beneficiaries.
(i) The first round of grants awarded in 2015 proves that a
statewide framework is an effective way to draw down these federal
funds. The State of Washington was the largest first-round grant
recipient, awarded almost $6 million to help low-income families
afford fresh produce. California must act now and tap into this
federal funding before it is too late.
(j) Creation of a statewide Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant
Program modeled after the successful experience of the Market Match
program would help draw down federal funds to further maximize access
to fresh healthy foods and stimulate local economies in a more
equitable cross-section of communities.
SEC. 2. Chapter 13 (commencing with Section 49010) is added to
Division 17 of the Food and Agricultural Code, to read:
CHAPTER 13. NUTRITION INCENTIVE MATCHING GRANT PROGRAM
49010. This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the
California Nutrition Incentives Act.
49011. The Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program is hereby
established in the Office of Farm to Fork for purposes of encouraging
the purchase and consumption of California fresh fruits, nuts, and
vegetables by directly linking California fresh fruit, nut, and
vegetable producers with nutrition benefit clients.
49012. For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions
shall apply:
(a) "Consumer incentive program" means a program administered by a
qualified entity that increases the purchasing value of a nutrition
benefit client's benefits when the benefits are used to purchase
California fresh fruits, nuts, and vegetables.
(b) "Nutrition benefit client" means a person who receives
services or payments through any of the following:
(1) California Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women,
Infants, and Children, as described in Section 123280 of the Health
and Safety Code.
(2) CalWORKS program, as described in Chapter 2 (commencing with
Section 11200) of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code.
(3) CalFresh, as described in Section 18900.2 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code.
(4) Implementation of the federal WIC Farmers' Market Nutrition
Act of 1992 (Public Law 102-314).
(5) The Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program, as described in
Section 3007 of Title 7 of the United States Code.
(6) Supplemental Security Income or State Supplementary Payment,
as described in Section 1381 and following of Title 42 of the United
States Code.
(c) "Qualified entity" means either of the following:
(1) A certified farmers' market, as described in Section 47004, an
association of certified producers, or a nonprofit organization
representing a collective or association of certified producers that
is authorized by the United States Department of Agriculture to
accept federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Chapter 51
(commencing with Section 2011) of Title 7 of the United States Code)
benefits from recipient purchasers at a farmers' market. Certified
producers shall be certified by the county agricultural commissioner
pursuant to Section 47020.
(2) A small business, as defined in Section 14837 of the
Government Code, that sells California grown fresh fruits, nuts, and
vegetables and that is authorized to accept nutrition benefits from
any of the programs listed in paragraphs (1) to (6), inclusive, of
subdivision (b).
49013. The Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Account is hereby
created in the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund to collect
matching funds from the federal Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive
Grant Program (7 U.S.C. Sec. 7517), and other public and private
sources, to provide grants under the Nutrition Incentive Matching
Grant Program. The Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program shall
only provide grants upon the deposit of sufficient funds, as
specified in its federal Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive Grant
Program application, into the Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant
Account.
49014. The Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program shall be
administered in accordance with all of the following:
(a) Subject to the regulations adopted by the National Institute
of Food and Agriculture in the United States Department of
Agriculture in accordance with the federal Agricultural Act of 2014
(Public Law 113-79), or any subsequent federal agricultural act,
moneys in the Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Account shall be
awarded in the form of grants to qualified entities for consumer
incentive programs.
(b) (1) The Office of Farm to Fork shall establish minimum
standards, funding schedules, and procedures for awarding grants in
consultation with the United States Department of Agriculture and
other interested stakeholders, including, but not limited to, the
State Department of Public Health, State Department of Social
Services, organizations with expertise in nutrition benefit programs
or consumer incentive programs, small business owners that may
qualify as a qualified entity, and certified farmers' market
operators.
(2) The department shall not use more than one-third of the
Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program funds for consumer
incentive programs with qualified entities described in paragraph (2)
of subdivision (c) of Section 49012.
(c) The department shall give priority in awarding grants to
qualified entities based on, but not limited to, the following:
(1) The service of an area of population currently not being
served by a consumer incentive program.
(2) The degree of the existence of the following demographic
conditions and the character of the communities in which sales of
California grown fresh fruits, nuts, and vegetables are made to the
public by authorized vendors operating in conjunction with a
qualified entity:
(A) The number of people who are eligible for, or receiving,
nutrition benefit program services.
(B) The prevalence of diabetes, obesity, and other diet-related
illnesses.
(C) The availability of access to fresh fruits, nuts, and
vegetables.
(3) Demonstrated efficiency in the administration of a consumer
incentive program.
