Article 10 - Farm to Community Food Hub Program

California Food and Agricultural Code — §§ 590-593

Sections (4)

Added by Stats. 2021, Ch. 608, Sec. 1. (AB 1009) Effective January 1, 2022. Repealed as of January 1, 2034, pursuant to Section 593.

For the purposes of this article, the following definitions apply:

(a)“Beginning,” in reference to a farmer or rancher, means a person who has materially and substantially participated in the operation of a farm or ranch for 10 years or less.

(b)“Limited resource” has the same definition as in Section 760.107 of Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(c)“Office” means the Office of Farm to Fork in the department.

(d)“Program” means the Farm to Community Food Hub Program.

(e)“Socially disadvantaged” has

the same definition as in Section 512.

(f)“Sustainable agriculture production practices or methods” means practices, including, but not limited to, organic methods, biological control, and integrated pest management, and ecologically beneficial means of soil improvement, irrigation, cultivation, harvesting, transportation, and marketing for California agriculture based on methods, as identified by the department.

§ 591

Amended by Stats. 2024, Ch. 917, Sec. 1. (SB 1448) Effective September 28, 2024. Repealed as of January 1, 2034, pursuant to Section 593.

(a)The Farm to Community Food Hub Program is hereby established for the purpose of piloting investments in the capital aggregation and distribution infrastructure needed to increase purchasing of local, environmentally sustainable, climate-smart, and equitably produced food by schools and other institutions, build a better food system economy, support the local farming economy, accelerate climate adaptation and resilience, and employ food system workers with fair wages and working conditions.

(b)The program shall be administered by the Office of Farm to Fork in the department. In administering the program, the office shall develop and consult with a working group comprising at least seven individuals who possess expertise in the operation of food hubs and the areas

described in subdivision (a), including, but not limited to, representatives of the Sustainable Agriculture and Research Education Program, housed within the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, representatives of the department’s BIPOC Producer Advisory Committee and Small-Scale Producer Advisory Committee, technical experts with experience establishing a food hub, food supply chain representatives such as producers, processors, or purchasers with expertise working with small and socially disadvantaged farms, and at least one representative with expertise in advancing food system improvements that are supportive of local food systems.

(c)(1) A participant of the working group shall recuse themself from any matter involving the scoring of grant applications or directing of grant funds, if an entity for which they serve on the board of directors or in any other role intends to apply, or has applied,

for a grant under the program.

(2)A participant of the working group who recuses themself pursuant to paragraph (1) may still serve on the working group to provide general guidance on the formation of the program.

(d)Participants of the working group shall receive a reasonable per diem allowance.

(e)The working group is not subject to the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Article 9 (commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).

§ 592

Amended by Stats. 2024, Ch. 917, Sec. 2. (SB 1448) Effective September 28, 2024. Repealed as of January 1, 2034, pursuant to Section 593.

(a)The program shall incentivize the creation and permanency of public-serving aggregation and distribution enterprises, known as farm to community food hubs, which may be operated by a nonprofit organization, school district, county office of education, cooperative, food and agriculture-related business, or Certified B Corporation. A farm to community food hub shall do all of the following:

(1)Serve as an aggregator and supply chain intermediary for local or regional farms or ranches, particularly those optimizing sustainable agriculture production practices or methods and following state labor practices. The farm to community food hub shall prioritize, to the greatest extent possible, but is not limited to, serving farms or ranches that are 500 acres or less,

cooperatively owned, or owned by farmers or ranchers who are socially disadvantaged, beginning, limited resource, veterans, or disabled.

(2)Prioritize, to the greatest extent feasible, distributing food products from the farms or ranches described in paragraph (1) to public institutions and nonprofit organizations, with primary emphasis on public schools and food banks in the region. Distribution of the food products may be contracted to a value-added intermediary, such as a produce, grain, meat, or seafood processor, if the food products are ultimately provided on a prioritized basis to public institutions or nonprofit organizations.

(3)Ensure that the farms and ranches with which it works comply with all laws, rules, and regulations, including labor and environmental requirements and standards.

(b)The program

shall prioritize the creation of new farm to community food hubs and may be administered in two phases, as follows:

(1)During the first phase of the program, the office shall solicit and select proposals throughout the state to create farm to community food hubs that meet the requirements in subdivision (a), and award planning grants to selected proposals.

(2)During the second phase of the program, the office shall select at least three of the proposals awarded planning grants pursuant to paragraph (1) and award to those proposals development grants for capital and operating expenses of each farm to community food hub for a five-year period.

(c)As a condition of the receipt of funds pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b), a farm to community food hub shall report to the office every quarter for five years

after the receipt of the funds regarding the use of the funds.

(d)Notwithstanding Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, for at least five years following the initial award of development grant funding pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b), the office shall provide an annual report on the status of the farm to community food hubs to the Legislature, in accordance with Section 9795 of the Government Code. The report shall include information on the progress of the farm to community food hubs in all of the following areas:

(1)Financial viability of self-sustainability.

(2)The number and type, with respect to size and ownership, of farms from which food products were sourced, and the volumes of food products sourced from each farm.

(3)The

number and type of institutions served by farm to community food hubs, and the volumes of food products provided to each institution.

(e)The program or a farm to community food hub awarded a development grant pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) may accept federal, state, industry, philanthropic, and private sources of funding.

§ 593

Added by renumbering Section 594 by Stats. 2024, Ch. 917, Sec. 4. (SB 1448) Effective September 28, 2024. Repealed as of January 1, 2034, by its own provisions. Note: Repeal affects Article 10, commencing with Section 590.

This article shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2034, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute that is enacted before January 1, 2034, deletes or extends that date.