HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 06092015 - C.41RECOMMENDATION(S):
ADOPT a "Support" position on AB 1321 (Ting): Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program, as introduced, a bill
that establishes the Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant (NIMG) Program in the Office of Farm to Fork, to encourage
the purchase and consumption of fresh California fruits, nuts, and vegetables by directly linking producers with
certain public benefit recipients, as recommended by the Legislation Committee.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Fiscal impact unknown.
BACKGROUND:
At its May 7, 2015 meeting, the Legislation Committee considered the recommendation from the Agricultural
Commissioner to recommend a position of "Support" to the Board of Supervisors on AB 1321.
Introduced: 02/27/2015
Disposition: Pending
Location: Assembly Appropriations Committee
Status: 05/20/2015 In Assembly APPROPRIATIONS. On Suspense File.
SUMMARY: This bill establishes the Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant (NIMG) Program in the Office of Farm to
Fork (OF2F), creates a NIMG account and requires OF2F to establish minimum standards, funding schedules and
grant procedures for the NIMG program. Specifically, this bill:
APPROVE OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE
Action of Board On: 06/09/2015 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER
Clerks Notes:
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS
AYE:John Gioia, District I
Supervisor
Candace Andersen, District II
Supervisor
Mary N. Piepho, District III
Supervisor
Karen Mitchoff, District IV
Supervisor
ABSENT:Federal D. Glover, District V
Supervisor
Contact: L. DeLaney, 925-335-1097
I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the
Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: June 9, 2015
David Twa, County Administrator and Clerk of the Board of Supervisors
By: June McHuen, Deputy
cc:
C. 41
To:Board of Supervisors
From:LEGISLATION COMMITTEE
Date:June 9, 2015
Contra
Costa
County
Subject:AB 1321 (Ting) Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program
1) Establishes the NIMG program within OF2F for the purpose of encouraging the buying and eating of California
fruit, nuts and vegetables.
2) Defines the following:
a) Nutrition benefit client (NBC) means a person who receives services or payments through any of the following:
i) California Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), as described in current
state law;
ii) CalWORKS program, as described in current state law;
iii) CalFresh, as described in current state law;
iv) Implementation of the federal WIC Farmers' Market Nutrition Act of 1992;
v) The Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program, as current United State law; or,
vi) Supplemental Security Income or State Supplementary Payment, as current United State law.
b) Defines a qualified entity as:
i) A certified farmers' market, an association of certified producers, or a nonprofit organization representing a
collective or association of certified producers, as specified; or,
ii) A small business that sells California grown fresh fruits, nuts, and vegetables and is authorized to accept nutrition
benefits from any of the programs uses by NBC, as specified.
c) Defines a consumer incentive program (CIP) to mean a program administered by a qualified entity that doubles the
purchasing value of a NBC's benefits when the benefits are used to purchase California fresh fruits, nuts, and
vegetables.
3) Creates the NIMG account within OF2F to collect matching funds from federal grant programs, and other public
and private sources.
4) Requires OF2F to provide and administer grants under the NIMG program in accordance with the following:
a) Requires, subject to federal regulation and state appropriations, funds in the NIMG account be awarded by grants
to qualified entities for a CIP;
b) Requires OF2F to establish minimum standards, funding schedules and procedures for awarding grants, in
consultation with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and other specified parties of interest, as
specified;
i) Requires OF2F to not spend more than one-third of NIMG programs funds on CIP.
c) Requires OF2F to prioritize the awarding of NIMGs based on, but not limited to, the following:
i) Known demographic information as follows:
(1) The NBC in an area;
(2) The prevalence of diabetes, obesity or other diet related diseases; and,
(3) The availability of fresh fruits, nuts and vegetables.
ii) Demonstrated skill in administering a CIP; and,
iii) Areas where the current population is not being served a CIP.
BACKGROUND: (CONT'D)
EXISTING LAW :
1) Establishes OF2F within the Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), to work with various entities
involved in promoting food access, and to increase the amount of agricultural products available to schools and
underserved communities in the state.
2) Requires OF2F to 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.
3) Creates the Farm to Fork Account in the CDFA Fund consisting of money made available from federal, state,
industry, and other sources, and would continuously appropriate the money deposited in the account to carry out
the purposes of OF2F.
EXISTING FEDERAL LAW:
1) Establishes the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly the food stamp program,
administered by USDA, which imposes specified rules on specified program participants and limits benefits based
on those rules.
2) Establishes state grants for programs that supplement nutrition benefits that are spent on products at farmers'
markets, based upon specified criteria.
COMMENTS: The California Market Match (MM) program was launched in 2009 to encourage low-income
families receiving benefits through SNAP to purchase fresh, locally-grown fruits and vegetables at farmers'
markets. The program "matches" or doubles the amount of benefits these families can spend and has expanded
operations to over 150 farmers' markets across California and increased the spending power of 37,000 families.
According to the author, strong demand for MM often outstrips available funding for the program. The 2014
federal Farm Bill included $100 million in grant funding for programs such as Market Match that incentivize
healthier eating amongst SNAP recipients. In order to best position local programs to receive these federal grants,
this bill creates a state NIMG Program to apply for federal funds and award them to local MM programs with a
proven record of success. Establishing a state framework to oversee funding of MM programs would leverage
state resources to streamline local program administration, and expand MM programs across a more equitable
cross-section of communities that lack access to fresh produce.
One of the co-sponsors of this bill, Roots of Change, explained how they used $1.9 million in CDFA Specialty
Crop Block Grant money, and nearly $300,000 in philanthropic funds from 2009 to 2013, to create the California
MM pilot program. The MM pilot program has expanded market opportunities for specialty crop farmers.
Supporters state that community-based partners operated in 23 counties to implement MM programs in 150
markets in 2014. Currently, the incentive match funds used to increase purchasing power are derived from
philanthropic sources only and are therefore limited in scope. Supporters state the goal of this bill is to assist the
state in leveraging federal dollars to increase specialty crop sales among low-income Californians.
The author states that California is uniquely positioned to benefit from greater proliferation of programs such as
MM. California grows over 400 commodities and produces nearly half of US-grown fruits, nuts and vegetables.
There are approximately 700 certified Farmers' Markets and 2,200 certified producers in California. Furthermore,
the author stresses that California has a persistent poverty problem to solve. 24% of Californians live in poverty
and is ranked 50th in the rate of participation in SNAP. Scaling up MM programs would create an incentive for
more families to utilize their SNAP benefits and ensure more Californians can afford to eat what is grown locally.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Ecology Center (co-sponsor)
Roots of Change (co-sponsor)
Latino Coalition for a Healthy California (co-sponsor)
Public Health Institute (co-sponsor)
Agricultural Commissioner of the City/County of San Francisco
Agricultural Institute of Marin
Agriculture and Land-based Training Association
AltaMed Health Services Corporation
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
American Heart Association
American Stroke Association
Ashland Cherryland Food Policy Council
Berkeley Food Institute
Building Healthy Communities: Long Beach
California Alliance of Farmers' Markets
California Association of Food Banks
California Black Health Network
California Certified Organic Farmers
California Commission on Aging
California Convergence
California Farm Bureau Federation
California Food Policy Advocates
California Food Policy Council
California Hunger Action Coalition
California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
California Partnership
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
Center for Food Safety
City of Santa Monica
City of Santa Monica's Farmers' Market Program
Coastside Farmers' Markets
Community Alliance with Family Farmers
Community Food and Justice Coalition
County of Yolo
CUESA
Cultiva La Salud
Enrich LA
Feeding America San Diego
First 5 LA
Food Chain Workers Alliance
Food for People, Food Bank for Humboldt County
Hunger Action Los Angeles
Hunger Advocacy Network
Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles
Los Angeles Community Action Network
Los Angeles Food Policy Council
Madera County Agricultural Commissioner
Natural Resources Defense Council
North Coast Growers' Association
Orange County Food Access Coalition
Pacific Coast Farmers' Market Association
Plumas-Sierra Community Food Council
PolicyLink
Prevention Institute
Project Angel Food
San Diego Hunger Coalition
San Francisco Food Security Task Force
San Francisco Unified School District
San Francisco Urban Agriculture Alliance
Santa Barbara Food Alliance
Santa Cruz County Agricultural Commissioner
Sebastopol Farmers Market
SF-Marin Food Bank
Slow Food California
Social Justice Learning Institute
Sprouts of Promise Foundation
SPUR
St. Anthony Foundation
Strategic Alliance for Healthy Food & Activity Environments
Sustainable Economic Enterprises of Los Angeles
Sustainable Economies Law Center
Thai Community Development Center
The Farmers Guild
UC San Diego, Department of Pediatrics Center for Community Health
United Food & Commercial Workers Union, Western States Council
United Way of Kern County
Urban & Environment Policy Institute
Volunteers of East Los Angeles
Wellington Square Certified Farmers Market
Western Center on Law & Poverty
Western Growers
Women Organizing Resources, Knowledge & Services
Yolo County Ag & Food Alliance
Opposition
None of file
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
Contra Costa County would not have a position on the bill.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - Bill Text
Attachment B - Fact Sheet
california legislature—2015–16 regular session
ASSEMBLY BILL No. 1321
Introduced by Assembly Member Ting
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Bonta)
(Principal coauthor: Senator Wolk)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Levine and Perea)
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, as introduced, 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.
Existing law creates the Farm to Fork Account in the Department of
Food and Agriculture Fund that would consist of money made available
from federal, state, industry, and other sources, and would continuously
appropriate the money deposited in the account without regard to fiscal
years to carry out the purposes of the Office of Farm to Fork.
99
Attachment A
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 Farm to Fork Account to
collect matching funds received from a specified federal grant program
and funds from other public and private sources to provide grants under
the Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program and to administer the
Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program. 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 an appropriation
in the annual Budget Act 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.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
line 1 SECTION 1. Chapter 13 (commencing with Section 49010)
line 2 is added to Division 17 of the Food and Agricultural Code, to read:
line 3
line 4 Chapter 13. Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant
line 5 Program
line 6
line 7 49010. This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the
line 8 California Nutrition Incentives Act.
line 9 49011. The Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program is
line 10 hereby established in the Office of Farm to Fork for purposes of
line 11 encouraging the purchase and consumption of California fresh
line 12 fruits, nuts, and vegetables by directly linking California fresh
line 13 fruit, nut, and vegetable producers with nutrition benefit clients.
line 14 49012. For purposes of this article, the following definitions
line 15 shall apply:
line 16 (a) “Nutrition benefit client” means a person who receives
line 17 services or payments through any of the following:
line 18 (1) California Special Supplemental Food Program for Women,
line 19 Infants, and Children, as described in Section 123280 of the Health
line 20 and Safety Code.
99
— 2 —AB 1321
Attachment A
line 1 (2) CalWORKS program, as described in Chapter 2
line 2 (commencing with Section 11200) of Part 3 of Division 9 of the
line 3 Welfare and Institutions Code.
line 4 (3) CalFresh, as described in Section 18900.2 of the Welfare
line 5 and Institutions Code.
line 6 (4) Implementation of the federal WIC Farmers’ Market
line 7 Nutrition Act of 1992 (Public Law 102-314).
line 8 (5) The Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program, as described
line 9 in Section 3007 of Title 7 of the United States Code.
line 10 (6) Supplemental Security Income or State Supplementary
line 11 Payment, as described in Section 1381 et seq. of Title 42 of the
line 12 United States Code.
line 13 (b) “Qualified entity,” for purposes of this article, means either
line 14 of the following:
line 15 (1) A certified farmers’ market, as described in Section 47004,
line 16 an association of certified producers, or a nonprofit organization
line 17 representing a collective or association of certified producers that
line 18 is authorized by the United States Department of Agriculture to
line 19 accept federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Chapter
line 20 51 (commencing with Section 2011) of Title 7 of the United States
line 21 Code) benefits from recipient purchasers at a farmers’ market.
line 22 Certified producers shall be certified by the county agricultural
line 23 commissioner pursuant to Section 47020.
line 24 (2) A small business, as defined in Section 14837 of the
line 25 Government Code, that sells California grown fresh fruits, nuts,
line 26 and vegetables and that is authorized to accept nutrition benefits
line 27 from any of the programs listed in paragraphs (1) to (6), inclusive,
line 28 of subdivision (a).
line 29 (c) “Consumer incentive program” means a program
line 30 administered by a qualified entity that doubles the purchasing value
line 31 of a nutrition benefit client’s benefits when the benefits are used
line 32 to purchase California fresh fruits, nuts, and vegetables.
line 33 49013. The Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Account is
line 34 hereby created in the Farm to Fork Account to collect matching
line 35 funds from the federal Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentives Grant
line 36 Program (7 U.S.C. Sec. 7517), and other public and private sources,
line 37 to provide grants under the Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant
line 38 Program and to administer the Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant
line 39 Program in accordance with all of the following:
99
AB 1321— 3 — Attachment A
line 1 (a) Subject to the regulations adopted by the National Institute
line 2 of Food and Agriculture in the United States Department of
line 3 Agriculture in accordance with the federal Agricultural Act of
line 4 2014 (Public Law 113-79) and an appropriation in the annual
line 5 Budget Act, moneys in the Nutrition Incentive Matching Account
line 6 shall be awarded in the form of grants to qualified entities for
line 7 consumer incentive programs.
line 8 (b) (1) The Office of Farm to Fork shall establish minimum
line 9 standards, funding schedules, and procedures for awarding grants
line 10 in consultation with the United States Department of Agriculture
line 11 and other interested stakeholders, including, but not limited to, the
line 12 State Department of Public Health, State Department of Social
line 13 Services, organizations with expertise in nutrition benefit programs
line 14 or consumer incentive programs, small business owners that may
line 15 qualify as a qualified entity, and certified farmers’ market
line 16 operators.
line 17 (2) The department shall not use more than one-third of the
line 18 Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program funds for consumer
line 19 incentive programs with entities described in paragraph (2) of
line 20 subdivision (b) of Section 49012.
line 21 (c) Priority in the awarding of grants by the department to
line 22 qualified entities shall be based on, but not limited to, the
line 23 following:
line 24 (1) The degree of the existence of the following demographic
line 25 conditions and the character of the communities in which sales of
line 26 California grown fresh fruits, nuts, and vegetables are made to the
line 27 public by authorized vendors operating in conjunction with a
line 28 qualified entity:
line 29 (A) The number of people who are eligible for, or receiving,
line 30 nutrition benefit program services.
line 31 (B) The prevalence of diabetes, obesity, and other diet-related
line 32 illnesses.
line 33 (C) The availability of access to fresh fruits, nuts, and
line 34 vegetables.
line 35 (2) Demonstrated efficiency in the administration of a consumer
line 36 incentive program.
line 37 (3) The service of an area of population currently not being
line 38 served by a consumer incentive program.
O
99
— 4 —AB 1321
Attachment A
AB 1321
California Nutrition Incentives Act
Office of Assemblymember Philip Y. Ting | AB 1321 Fact Sheet 1
SUMMARY
Diet is the foundation for good health, and despite our
unparalleled agricultural bounty, at least 4 million
Californians struggle with food insecurity. AB 1321
would increase access to healthy California grown
produce by doubling the purchasing power of low-
income Californians at farmers markets across the state.
The 2014 federal Farm Bill set aside $100 million in
grants for programs that increase fruit and vegetable
purchases among low-income consumers participating in
the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
by providing incentives at the point of purchase. This bill
sets up a state framework to help draw down those
federal grants for local nutrition incentive programs that
alleviate poverty and food insecurity, maximize access to
fresh healthy foods, and stimulate economic growth in
both agricultural and urban communities.
BACKGROUND
The California Market Match program was launched in
2009 to encourage low-income families receiving
nutrition benefits to purchase fresh, locally-grown fruits
and vegetables at farmers’ markets. The program
“matches” or doubles the amount of nutrition benefits
these families can spend and has expanded operations to
over 140 farmers’ markets across California and
increased the spending power of 37,000 families.
The program benefits low-income families and local
farmers. Studies have demonstrated that Market Match
increases redemption of CalFresh and other nutrition
benefits at participating markets from 132% to 700%,
and generates a six-fold return on investment in farmers’
market sales. As a result of Market Match, 69% of
farmers report that they have new shoppers and 67% of
farmers report that they earned more income.
Strong demand for Market Match often outstrips
available funding for the program. However, the 2014
federal Farm Bill included $100 million in grant funding
for programs such as Market Match that incentivize
healthier eating amongst SNAP recipients. In order to
best position local programs to receive these federal
grants, AB 1321 creates a state Nutrition Incentive
Matching Grant Program to apply for federal funds and
award them to local Market Match programs with a
proven record of success. Establishing a state framework
to oversee funding of Market Match programs would
leverage state resources to streamline local program
administration, and expand Market Match programs
across a more equitable cross-section of communities
that lack access to fresh produce.
California is uniquely positioned to benefit from greater
proliferation of programs such as Market Match.
California grows over 400 commodities and produces
nearly half of US-grown fruits, nuts and vegetables. We
have approximately 700 certified Farmers’ Markets and
2,200 certified producers. We also have a large
persistent poverty problem to solve. 24% of Californians
live in poverty and we rank 50th in the rate of
participation in SNAP. Scaling up Market Match
programs would create an incentive for more families to
utilize their SNAP benefits and ensure more Californians
can afford to eat what we grow.
THIS BILL
AB 1321 would enact the California Nutrition Incentives
Act, creating the Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant
Program within the Office of Farm to Fork at the
California Department of Food and Agriculture. The
program would award grants to certified farmers’
markets that double the amount of nutrition benefits
available to low-income consumers when purchasing
California fresh fruits, nuts, and vegetables. The program
would also allow up to one-third of grant funds to be
awarded to small businesses that provide such matching
nutrition incentives, in order to reach low-income
Californians residing in food deserts with limited access
to farmers’ markets. Grants would be prioritized in
disadvantaged communities with a high prevalence of
diabetes and obesity to ensure a focus on expanding
access to fresh, healthy food.
SUPPORT
Ecology Center (co-sponsor)
Latino Coalition for a Healthy California (co-sponsor)
Public Health Institute (co-sponsor)
Roots of Change (co-sponsor)
American Heart Association
American Stroke Association
Ashland Cherryland Food Policy Council
Building Healthy Communities: Long Beach
California Alliance of Farmers’ Markets
California Association of Food Banks
California Certified Organic Farmers
California Food Policy Advocates
California Hunger Action Coalition
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
Attachment B
AB 1321
California Nutrition Incentives Act
Office of Assemblymember Philip Y. Ting | AB 1321 Fact Sheet 2
Center for Food Safety
City of Santa Monica’s Farmers Market Program
Coastside Farmers’ Markets
Community Food and Justice Coalition
CUESA
Enrich LA
Feeding America San Diego
Food Chain Workers Alliance
Hunger Action Los Angeles
Hunger Advocacy Network
Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles
Los Angeles Community Action Network
Los Angeles Food Policy Council
Orange County Food Access Coalition
Plumas-Sierra Community Food Council
Prevention Institute
Project Angel Food
San Diego Hunger Coalition
San Francisco Food Security Task Force
San Francisco Urban Agriculture Alliance
Santa Barbara Food Alliance
SF-Marin Food Bank
SPUR
St. Anthony Foundation
Strategic Alliance for Healthy Food & Activity
Environments
Sustainable Economic Enterprises of Los Angeles
Sustainable Economies Law Center
The Farmers Guild
UC San Diego, Department of Pediatrics Center for
Community Health
United Way of Kern County
Urban & Environment Policy Institute
Volunteers of East Los Angeles
Wellington Square Certified Farmers Market
Western Center on Law & Poverty
Women Organizing Resources, Knowledge & Services
Yolo County Ag & Food Alliance
STAFF CONTACT
Office of Assemblymember Phil Ting
Irene Ho
(916) 319-2019
Attachment B