Public health: food access.

Existing law requires the Department of Food and Agriculture, headed by the Secretary of Food and Agriculture, to promote and protect the agricultural industry of the state. This bill would, until January 1, 2014, create the California Healthy Food Financing Initiative. It would require, by July 1, 2011, the Department of Food and Agriculture, in consultation with the State Department of Public Health and the State Department of Social Services, to prepare recommendations, to be presented upon request to the Legislature, regarding actions that need to be taken to promote food access in the state. The bill would also require, to the extent that federal funds are made available, the Department of Food and Agriculture to implement the initiative. The bill would require the Department of Food and Agriculture to coordinate efforts to maximize the funding opportunities provided by the federal 2010 Healthy Food Financing Initiative. The bill would create the California Healthy Food Financing Initiative Fund in the State Treasury, to be comprised of federal, state, and private funds, for the purpose of expanding access to healthy foods in underserved communities and, to the extent practicable, to leverage other funding, as specified. Moneys in the fund shall be expended upon appropriation by the Legislature.