AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 13, 2026

AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 18, 2026

AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 19, 2026

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

96

Introduced by Assembly Member Wilson

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Alanis, Jeff Gonzalez, Hadwick, and Soria)

February 5, 2026

An act to add Chapter 14.6 (commencing with Section 49026) to Division 17 of the Food and Agricultural Code, relating to food and agriculture.

Vote: majority   Appropriation: no   Fiscal committee: yes   Local program: no

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

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, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to establish the California Healthy Food Procurement Fund for California Public Institutions 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 food products, including for institutions serving pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive. the purpose of identifying vendors in California that have the capacity to provide healthy foods to California public institutions, as defined. The bill would require the office, to the extent that funding is available, to implement initiatives under the program, including, but not limited to, an initiative that would, among other things, provide funding to approved vendors to procure 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. to develop a list of approved vendors that public institutions can use to procure food products that are whole or minimally processed and are grown or produced in California using climate-smart agriculture practices and climate-smart agriculture production systems.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Chapter 14.6 (commencing with Section 49026) is added to Division 17 of the Food and Agricultural Code, to read:

Chapter 14.6. California Healthy Food Procurement for California Public Institutions Act

49026.

This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the California Healthy Food Procurement for California Public Institutions Act.

49027.

For purposes of this chapter, both all of the following definitions apply:

(b) “Office” means the Office of Farm to Fork created pursuant to Section 49001.

(c) “Program” means the California Healthy Food Procurement Fund for California Public Institutions Program established pursuant to Section 49028.

49028.

(a) Upon an appropriation by the Legislature for purposes of this chapter, the Office of Farm to Fork shall establish the California Healthy Food Procurement Fund for California Public Institutions 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 program shall increase the procurement of healthy foods, including for institutions serving pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive. the purpose of identifying vendors in California that have the capacity to provide healthy foods to California public institutions.

(b) To the extent that funding is available, the office shall implement initiatives under the program, including, but not limited to, an initiative to do all of the following:

(2) Establish an application process to approve vendors that meet all of the following requirements:

(A) The vendor sources and distributes 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. If the vendor sources food products from multiple farms and ranches, 50 percent or more of the total farmers and ranchers that the vendor sources food products from are California farms and ranches using climate-smart agriculture practices and climate-smart agriculture production systems.

(B) The vendor serves institutions serving pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive. is capable of serving public institutions.

(C) The vendor tracks and readily provides itemized source identification information, including the farm or ranch of origin, and certifications to the office.

(D) The vendor keeps records of purchase invoices from sourced farms and ranches. After a vendor is approved, the vendor may be subject to an audit of its purchasing.

(E) The vendor aligns with the priorities of the office.

(F) The vendor maintains robust compliance that ensures the farms and ranches that the vendor sources food products from comply with all laws, rules, and regulations, including food safety, labor, and environmental safety requirements and standards.

(3) Publish the list of approved vendors on the department’s internet website, including the region that each vendor serves and their contact information.

(4) Ensure that vendors throughout the geographic regions of the state are selected. The office may establish limits on vendor participation to maintain a competitive and diverse marketplace.

49030.49029.

Within one year of the office establishing the program, and every three years thereafter, the office shall submit a report on the status of the program to the Legislature, in accordance with Section 9795 of the Government Code. The report shall include information on the progress of the program, including, but not limited to, all of the following:

(a) The number and type of public institutions served by approved vendors, and the volumes of food products provided to each public institution.

(b) The number and type, with respect to business model, of vendors providing food products to institutions. on the approved vendor list.