Policy Update - Sacramento Success! And Important Upcoming Legislation to Watch Out For
Monday, October 14, 2024
As part of AIM’s mission to create a healthy, equitable, Earth-Friendly local and regional food system, we advocate for meaningful changes in state and local policies. We have had some recent policy successes to support healthy food access and climate resiliency, while continuing to work through challenges affecting our local food supply and the future of organic and organic and sustainable agriculture.
AIM Develops First State Policy for Mobile Markets & WIC in the Country!
Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 2786 (Certified Mobile Farmers' Markets) into law! AIM and our partners at Fresh Approach drafted legislation, testified in both houses of the State Legislature, and created the first state law for mobile farmers' markets, like The Rollin’ Root, in the country. With passage of this law, we now have a legal definition of certified mobile farmers' markets in California to maintain integrity and access to fresh, culturally-relevant foods in our local communities while supporting small-scale farmers. The California Department of Public Health will now be able to include mobile farmers' markets in their state plan of operation for the WIC Farmers' Market Nutrition Program to allow families to use their benefits at mobile markets.
Our success is a testament to the unwavering dedication of our community. We also thank Assemblymember Mia Bonta (Oakland) who was our champion for this legislation.
Vote Yes on Prop 4 – California Climate Bond
As you may know, there will be a climate resilience bond on the November ballot as Proposition 4. If approved by a majority of voters in November, Wildfires, drought, and climate change have cost California’s farmers so much over the last two decades. Proposition 4 is a groundbreaking, bipartisan, $10 billion bond measure that protects California’s farmland, secures our water resources, and supports agricultural resilience.
Excitingly, Proposition 4 would make unprecedented investments in climate-resilient sustainable agriculture, local food system infrastructure, and farmworker health and well-being.
Prop 4 supports small family farmers across California by investing $40 million in year-round certified farmers’ markets and mobile farmers’ markets. This funding would give farmers more consistent access to local marketplaces, providing communities with nutritious and locally-grown food. Prop 4 will also make critical investments to safeguard farmers and ranchers against floods, extreme heat, fire, and drought.
AIM, along with CalCAN, Roots of Change, CAFF, CCOF, and more successfully advocated for Prop 4 to include funding for sustainable agriculture, food and farming and healthy food access.
$385 million for climate resilient, sustainable agriculture, including:
$65 million for the Healthy Soils Program
$40 million for the State Water Efficiency & Enhancement Program (SWEEP)
$15 million for the California Farmland Conservancy Program
$200 million for the Multi-benefit Land Repurposing Program
$30 million for a new program to protect farmland and improve land access and tenure for beginning and historically underserved farmers
$20 million for projects to manage invasive species
$15 million for research farms at Agricultural Experiment Stations
$90 million for local food system infrastructure and healthy food access, including:
$15 million for farmer equipment-sharing programs and cooperatives
$20 million for year-round farmers market infrastructure
$15 million for Tribes to grow, produce, procure, and distribute foods that reflect Indigenous culture and traditions
$20 million for urban agriculture
$20 million for mobile markets
$610 million for infrastructure to improve water quality or provide clean, safe, and reliable drinking water
$10 million for farmworker housing under the Low-Income Weatherization Program
$15 million for the Farmworker Vanpool Program
The depth and breadth of the food system investments in Proposition 4 is the direct result of a multi-year campaign by the Food and Farm Resilience Coalition, of which AIM is a founding member, and the tireless advocacy of our legislative champions Assemblymember Lori Wilson and Speaker Robert Rivas.
Our coalition of 17 agricultural, environmental, farmworker, public health, and food security organizations came together in 2020 in response to the unprecedented supply chain disruptions and health inequities caused by the pandemic, wildfires, and drought-to-flood whiplash. The coalition made the case for funding to rebuild a more equitable and resilient food and farming system, and sponsored two bond proposals over the past four years: AB 125 (Rivas) and AB 408 (Wilson). Those proposals garnered the support of over 130 organizations and a dozen legislative co-authors.