Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program: qualified entities: consumer cooperatives.

Existing law creates 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 establishes the Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program in the Office of Farm to Fork, and creates 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. Under the program, the department is required to award moneys in the account to qualified entities, as defined, to encourage the purchase and consumption of California fresh fruits, nuts, and vegetables by nutrition benefit clients, as defined. Existing law requires that grants only be provided upon the deposit of sufficient funds into the Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Account. A violation of the laws governing fruit, nut, and vegetable standards is a crime. This bill would specify that a consumer cooperative, as defined, that sells California-grown fresh fruits, nuts, and vegetables and is authorized to accept specified nutrition benefits from nutrition benefit clients is a qualified entity eligible to be awarded moneys through the Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program. By expanding the program to include consumer cooperatives, the bill would expand the scope of a crime and thereby impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.