Chapter 13. Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program of California Food And Agricultural Code >> Division 17. >> Chapter 13.

This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the California Nutrition Incentives Act.

The Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program is hereby established in the Office of Farm to Fork for purposes of encouraging the purchase and consumption of California fresh fruits, nuts, and vegetables by directly linking California fresh fruit, nut, and vegetable producers with nutrition benefit clients.

For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply:
  (a) "Consumer incentive program" means a program administered by a qualified entity that increases the purchasing value of a nutrition benefit client's benefits when the benefits are used to purchase California fresh fruits, nuts, and vegetables.
  (b) "Nutrition benefit client" means a person who receives services or payments through any of the following:
  (1) California Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, as described in Section 123280 of the Health and Safety Code.
  (2) CalWORKS program, as described in Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11200) of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
  (3) CalFresh, as described in Section 18900.2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
  (4) Implementation of the federal WIC Farmers' Market Nutrition Act of 1992 (Public Law 102-314).
  (5) The Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program, as described in Section 3007 of Title 7 of the United States Code.
  (6) Supplemental Security Income or State Supplementary Payment, as described in Section 1381 and following of Title 42 of the United States Code.
  (c) "Qualified entity" means either of the following:
  (1) A certified farmers' market, as described in Section 47004, an association of certified producers, or a nonprofit organization representing a collective or association of certified producers that is authorized by the United States Department of Agriculture to accept federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Chapter 51 (commencing with Section 2011) of Title 7 of the United States Code) benefits from recipient purchasers at a farmers' market. Certified producers shall be certified by the county agricultural commissioner pursuant to Section 47020.
  (2) A small business, as defined in Section 14837 of the Government Code, that sells California grown fresh fruits, nuts, and vegetables and that is authorized to accept nutrition benefits from any of the programs listed in paragraphs (1) to (6), inclusive, of subdivision (b).

The Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Account is hereby created in the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund to collect matching funds from the federal Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive Grant Program (7 U.S.C. Sec. 7517), and other public and private sources, to provide grants under the Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program. The Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program shall only provide grants upon the deposit of sufficient funds, as specified in its federal Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive Grant Program application, into the Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Account.

The Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program shall be administered in accordance with all of the following:
  (a) Subject to the regulations adopted by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture in the United States Department of Agriculture in accordance with the federal Agricultural Act of 2014 (Public Law 113-79), or any subsequent federal agricultural act, moneys in the Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Account shall be awarded in the form of grants to qualified entities for consumer incentive programs.
  (b) (1) The Office of Farm to Fork shall establish minimum standards, funding schedules, and procedures for awarding grants in consultation with the United States Department of Agriculture and other interested stakeholders, including, but not limited to, the State Department of Public Health, State Department of Social Services, organizations with expertise in nutrition benefit programs or consumer incentive programs, small business owners that may qualify as a qualified entity, and certified farmers' market operators.
  (2) The department shall not use more than one-third of the Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program funds for consumer incentive programs with qualified entities described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 49012.
  (c) The department shall give priority in awarding grants to qualified entities based on, but not limited to, the following:
  (1) The service of an area of population currently not being served by a consumer incentive program.
  (2) The degree of the existence of the following demographic conditions and the character of the communities in which sales of California grown fresh fruits, nuts, and vegetables are made to the public by authorized vendors operating in conjunction with a qualified entity:
  (A) The number of people who are eligible for, or receiving, nutrition benefit program services.
  (B) The prevalence of diabetes, obesity, and other diet-related illnesses.
  (C) The availability of access to fresh fruits, nuts, and vegetables.
  (3) Demonstrated efficiency in the administration of a consumer incentive program.