Office of Farm to Fork: California Healthy Food Procurement Fund Program.

Plain English Breakdown

The exact details on how funds will be used and the specific requirements for vendors are not fully detailed in the provided official source material.

California Healthy Food Procurement Fund Program

This law requires the Office of Farm to Fork to establish a fund that increases procurement of healthy food products for schools and underserved communities in California, using climate-smart agriculture practices.

What This Bill Does

• Requires the Office of Farm to Fork to establish the California Healthy Food Procurement Fund Program by January 1, 2028.
• Increases procurement of healthy food products for institutions serving pupils from kindergarten through grade 12 and underserved communities.
• Provides funding to approved vendors who buy whole or minimally processed food products grown in California using climate-smart agriculture practices.
• Establishes the California Healthy Food Procurement Account within the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund, which will hold money from various sources.

Who It Names or Affects

• Schools serving students from kindergarten through grade 12
• Underserved communities in California
• Vendors who sell healthy food products

Terms To Know

Climate-smart agriculture practices

Farming methods that help protect the environment and adapt to climate change.

Procurement

The process of buying goods or services for a business or organization.

Limits and Unknowns

• Does not specify how much money will be in the fund.
• Does not detail all the ways schools and communities can use the funds.
• Requires funding to be available before initiatives can start.

Official Summary Text

AB 1731, as amended, Wilson.
Office of Farm to Fork: California Healthy Food Procurement Fund 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, 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.
This bill would require the office, on or before January 1, 2028, to establish the California Healthy Food Procurement Fund Program for purposes of cultivating equity, nurturing students, building climate resilience, supporting California agriculture, and creating scalable and sustainable change in the school food system. The bill would require that the program increase procurement of healthy
foods,
food products,
including for institutions serving pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive. The bill would
authorize
require
the office, to the extent that funding is available, to implement initiatives under the program, including, but not limited to, an initiative
to
that would, among other things,
provide funding to approved vendors to procure
foods
only food products
that are whole or are
minimally processed and are grown or produced in California using climate-smart agriculture practices and climate-smart agriculture production systems, as specified. The bill would create the California Healthy Food Procurement Account in the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund, consisting of moneys from federal, state, industry, philanthropic, and private sources, which the bill would make available to the department upon appropriation by the Legislature for the purposes of the program.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF