California Assembly Bill AB2602 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 2602AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 2, 2014 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Eggman (Principal coauthors: Assembly Members Garcia, Gonzalez, and Quirk-Silva) FEBRUARY 21, 2014 An act to add Article 10 (commencing with Section 590) to Chapter 3 of Part 1 of Division 1 of the Food and Agricultural Code, relating to the Farm to School Program. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2602, as amended, 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   Program within  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.   specified purposes, including serving healthy meals in school cafeterias.  The bill would authorize the Secretary of Food and Agriculture to distribute grants  of up to $5,000 per schoolsite  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.   purposes including, among others, food literacy education.  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.   Public Health.  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: SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) The lack of access to nutritious food has led to a rise in obesity among children, which now affects one out of every three children in the United States. Obesity can lead to a variety of health problems, such as type II diabetes, high blood pressure, and elevated cholesterol levels. Farm to School programs could increase access to  fresh local   California grown  vegetables and fruits, specifically in urban, low-income, and rural communities. (b) In 2013, federal nutritional standards for foods sold in schools were updated to comply with the improved nutritional standards of the federal Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. In California, 89.1 percent of schools are meeting these new meal standards. However, California schools are still facing obstacles in providing healthy meals to pupils, including a lack of adequate kitchen supplies. (c) Farm to School program funding  could   will  provide school districts with the opportunity to update their kitchen supplies to meet new federal  nutritional  guidelines,  increase staff training related to the preparation of fresh foods, educate pupils on nutrition,  and prepare a greater amount and variety of fruits and vegetables. SEC. 2. Article 10 (commencing with Section 590) is added to Chapter 3 of Part 1 of Division 1 of the Food and Agricultural Code, to read: Article 10. Farm to School Program 590. (a) The Farm to School Program is hereby established  within the department  for the purpose of  increasing the provision of fresh and nutritious school meals to pupils   promoting the objectives specified in subdivision (b)  through the allocation of grants and the provision of technical assistance to school districts and county offices of education.  The program shall be administered by the department.   (b) "Farm to school program" means a program that connects schools and California farms with the objectives of serving healthy meals in school cafeterias, improving pupil nutrition, and providing agriculture, health, and nutrition educational opportunities.   (b)   (c)  The secretary shall 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 the Department of Food and Agriculture, the State Department of Education, and the State Department of  Health Care Services.   Public Health.  The working group shall advise the secretary on all of the following: (1) Effective and efficient means of encouraging school districts and county offices of education to develop a farm to school program. (2) The availability of state and nonstate resources and technical assistance to help school districts and county offices of education in establishing and maintaining farm to school programs.  (c)   (d)  The secretary shall use existing resources to comply with this section.  (d)   (e)  The State Department of Education and the State Department of  Public  Health  Care Services  shall use existing resources to comply with subdivision  (b).   (c).  591. (a) An eligible school district or county office of education may apply  on behalf of an elementary schoolsite  to the  secretary,   department,  in a manner determined by the secretary, for a grant to develop and maintain a  Farm   farm  to  School   school  program under this article. (b) A school district or county office of education is eligible to apply for the grant if the schoolsite to which the funds will go  meets one of the following criteria:   serves pupils in prekindergarten, kindergarten, or any of grades 1 to 6, inclusive, and the school district or county office of education has an average of at least 65 percent of pupils who are eligible to receive free or reduced-price meals.   (1) The median household income for the schoolsite is 200 percent or less of the federal poverty guidelines.   (2) The schoolsite is located in an area of high unemployment.  (c) The application, at a minimum, shall include, but is not limited to, the following information: (1) The identity of each school at which a farm to school program is to be located.  (2) The grade level or grade levels to be targeted.   (3) The number of pupils who would use the Farm to School program.   (4) The proposed menu changes for each participating school.   (5)   (2)  The intended items of expenditure for the funds  received.   received, the overall cost of the items, and other sources of funding, if any.   (d) The application also shall include an explanation of the six-month reporting requirement specified in Section 593.   (3) A description of how the funds will be used to meet the objectives of this article.  592. The secretary shall distribute the grants awarded to eligible school districts or county offices of education in accordance with the following:  (a) For a schoolsite with an enrollment of less than 1,000 pupils, the grant shall be no more than two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) per schoolsite.   (b) For a schoolsite with an enrollment of 1,000 or more pupils, the grant shall be no more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) per schoolsite.   (a) The maximum grant for any schoosite shall be five thousand dollars ($5,000).   (b) No school district or county office of education shall be awarded more than 10 percent of overall funds unless the secretary determines there is insufficient demand from other county offices of education or school districts.   (c) Funds may be used only for the following purposes:   (1) The development of salad bars.   (2) Staff training related to the preparation of fresh foods.   (3) Food literacy education, including, but not limited to, through farms and gardens.   (4) Kitchen equipment related to the preparation of fresh foods.  593. (a) As a condition of the receipt of funds pursuant to this article, within six months of the final expenditure of funds received pursuant to this article, a school district or county office of education shall report to the secretary, in conjunction with the interagency working group convened pursuant to subdivision  (b)   (c)  of Section 590, in a manner prescribed by the secretary, regarding the use of  funds, including how the funds were used to improve access to fresh and nutritious meals served by the participating school or schools.   funds.  (b) A school district or county office of education may submit one report for all of the schools that have received grants that are under the jurisdiction of the school district or county office of education. 594. The implementation of the provisions of this article is contingent upon appropriation of funds by the Legislature for those purposes.