AB 2602 Summary

• Establishes the Farm to School Program within the Department of Food and Agriculture to provide grants and technical assistance to school districts and county offices of education for serving healthy meals and nutrition education.

• Authorizes the Secretary of Food and Agriculture to distribute grants of up to $5,000 per schoolsite to eligible elementary schools with at least 65% of pupils eligible for free or reduced-price meals.

• Grant funds may be used for salad bar development, staff training on fresh food preparation, food literacy education, and kitchen equipment for preparing fresh foods.

• Requires the Secretary to convene an interagency working group including representatives from the Department of Food and Agriculture, State Department of Education, and State Department of Public Health to advise on supporting farm to school programs.

• Requires grant recipients to report within six months of final fund expenditure on how the grants were used; implementation is contingent on legislative appropriation of funds.