Food Desert Elimination Grant Program.

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, as prescribed, to increase the amount of agricultural products available to underserved communities and schools in the state. Existing law requires the office, among other things, to identify distribution barriers that affect limited food access and work to overcome those barriers through various actions and to coordinate with school districts and representatives to increase the nutritional profile of foods provided in schools. This bill would create the Food Desert Elimination Grant Program under the administration of the department for the purpose of expanding access to healthy foods in food deserts, as defined, in the state, and areas at risk of becoming food deserts, by providing grants to grocery store operators, as specified. The bill would create the Food Desert Elimination Fund in the General Fund and would authorize the fund to be expended by the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for purposes of the program. The bill would authorize the department to collect nonstate, federal, and private funds, require those funds to be deposited into the California Equitable Food Access Account within the Food Desert Elimination Fund, and continuously appropriate moneys in the account to the department for purposes of the program, thereby making an appropriation. The bill would authorize the department to award grants to grocery store operators seeking to locate grocery stores in food deserts and to award grants, totaling no more than 20% of the total program funding, to grocery store operators for equipment upgrades for grocery stores located in food deserts to expand or provide healthy foods for sale. The bill would authorize the department to adopt guidelines to implement these provisions. The bill would make the implementation of these provisions contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature. The bill would repeal these provisions on December 31, 2030.