Full Text of HB2879 103rd General Assembly
HB2879enr 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning hunger relief.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | 5 | | Illinois Farm to Food Bank Program Act. | 6 | | Section 5. Definitions. In this Act: | 7 | | "Agricultural entity" means a grower, producer, or | 8 | | processor of farm or dairy products, meat, poultry, fruits and | 9 | | agricultural products that are grown, raised, harvested, or | 10 | | processed in Illinois. | 11 | | "Department" means the Department of Human Services. | 12 | | "Food bank" means a public or charitable institution that | 13 | | maintains an established operation involving the provision of | 14 | | food or edible commodities to food pantries, soup kitchens, | 15 | | hunger relief centers, or other feeding programs that, as an | 16 | | integral part of their normal activities, provide meals or | 17 | | food to needy persons. | 18 | | "Program" means the Illinois Farm to Food Bank Program. | 19 | | "Program participant" means a food bank that receives food | 20 | | under the Illinois Farm to Food Bank Program to distribute to | 21 | | food pantries, soup kitchens, hunger relief centers, or other | 22 | | feeding programs that provide meals or food to needy persons. | 23 | | "Secretary" means the Secretary of Human Services. |
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| 1 | | Section 10. Establishment of the Illinois Farm to Food | 2 | | Bank Program. | 3 | | (a) A program to help expand the availability of | 4 | | nutritious, locally grown, raised, or processed foods for | 5 | | Illinois' emergency food system, known as Illinois Farm to | 6 | | Food Bank Program, is hereby established within the Department | 7 | | of Human Services. The program shall: | 8 | | (1) acquire and distribute agricultural products from | 9 | | Illinois agricultural entities or aggregators to Illinois' | 10 | | emergency food system, and | 11 | | (2) provide grants to improve capacity of the | 12 | | emergency food system to allow for the proper | 13 | | transportation, storage, or distribution of agricultural | 14 | | products to underserved areas. | 15 | | (b) The program shall target fruits, vegetables, meat and | 16 | | poultry, dairy, and eggs produced in Illinois. Foods shall be | 17 | | surplus, seconds, or market-grade quality levels and must be | 18 | | safe for consumption. | 19 | | (c) The Illinois Farm to Food Bank Program is subject to | 20 | | appropriation and shall dedicate no less than 75% of available | 21 | | funds to acquisition and distribution of food. | 22 | | Section 15. Administering entity. | 23 | | (a) The Secretary shall engage a not-for-profit entity | 24 | | from Illinois' emergency food system to administer the |
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| 1 | | program. The administering entity shall have statewide reach | 2 | | and represent multiple food banks that source and distribute | 3 | | food to Illinois food pantries and soup kitchens under the | 4 | | same authorities and standards as the Emergency Food | 5 | | Assistance Program administered by the Department. | 6 | | (b) The duties of the administering entity shall include, | 7 | | but are not limited to: | 8 | | (1) developing an annual plan outlining anticipated | 9 | | needs, outreach efforts, potential challenges, and any | 10 | | changes that may affect the program from the prior year; | 11 | | (2) issuing an annual report that summarizes the | 12 | | activity from the prior year, including meeting the | 13 | | capacity-building and equity goals of the program; | 14 | | (3) identifying program participants and their food | 15 | | needs; | 16 | | (4) building relationships with Illinois agricultural | 17 | | entities that address those needs, including socially | 18 | | disadvantaged farmers; | 19 | | (5) coordinating the acquisition and distribution of | 20 | | agricultural commodities to food banks; and | 21 | | (6) distributing capacity-building grants. | 22 | | Section 20. Advisory Council. | 23 | | (a) The Farm to Food Bank Advisory Council is created, | 24 | | consisting of the following members: | 25 | | (1) The Secretary of Human Services or the Secretary's |
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| 1 | | designee, who shall serve as chair. | 2 | | (2) The Director of Agriculture or the Director's | 3 | | designee. | 4 | | (3) Three representatives from food banks, including | 5 | | at least 2 representatives from food banks that | 6 | | participate in the Emergency Food Assistance Program | 7 | | administered by the Department of Human Services, selected | 8 | | by the Department. | 9 | | (4) Three representatives from the agricultural | 10 | | industry, selected by the Department. | 11 | | (5) A representative from an academic institution with | 12 | | expertise in agricultural systems, selected by the | 13 | | Department. | 14 | | (b) The Advisory Council shall provide support to the | 15 | | program through the following activities: | 16 | | (1) facilitating relationship-building and | 17 | | partnerships between the Illinois agricultural sector and | 18 | | the emergency food system; | 19 | | (2) approving of a proposed annual budget by the | 20 | | administering entity; | 21 | | (3) reviewing and providing feedback on the | 22 | | administering entity's annual plans and annual reports; | 23 | | (4) promoting the program; and | 24 | | (5) providing feedback or recommendations as needed to | 25 | | the administering entity. |
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| 1 | | Section 25. Participation requirements. | 2 | | (a) The Illinois Farm to Food Bank Program may distribute | 3 | | food to food banks with the infrastructure to accept, store, | 4 | | and distribute foods through the emergency food system in | 5 | | compliance with federal, State, or local health and food | 6 | | safety requirements and with the capacity to serve significant | 7 | | geographic areas within Illinois. Foods may be sourced | 8 | | directly from an agricultural entity or via Illinois-based | 9 | | aggregators as long as the foods meet program requirements. | 10 | | (b) Program participants shall match Farm to Food Bank | 11 | | resources with non-state funds. The match can be met through | 12 | | cash or in-kind contributions. | 13 | | (c) All food distributed under the program must be | 14 | | distributed in Illinois, regardless of the service area of the | 15 | | program participant. | 16 | | Section 30. Capacity-building grants. The Illinois Farm | 17 | | to Food Bank Program shall distribute capacity-building grants | 18 | | for facility upgrades, equipment, or other investments | 19 | | necessary to support the objectives of the program and allow | 20 | | for the proper pickup, storage, or processing of agricultural | 21 | | products that expand the ability of Illinois' emergency food | 22 | | system to access these products and better reach underserved | 23 | | areas and underserved populations. | 24 | | Section 35. Rulemaking. The Department shall adopt rules |
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| 1 | | to implement the program. These rules shall include, but are | 2 | | not limited to: | 3 | | (1) eligible costs related to acquisition and | 4 | | distribution of food, including, but not limited to, | 5 | | picking, packing, processing, and transportation; | 6 | | (2) health and safety requirements for program | 7 | | participants, farmers, and transportation; | 8 | | (3) food quality standards; | 9 | | (4) program requirements for the capacity-building | 10 | | grant program, including eligibility, allowable expenses, | 11 | | and reporting; | 12 | | (5) contracting requirements and purchasing options; | 13 | | (6) goals, preferences, and incentives to advance | 14 | | equity, especially racial equity, in the farm industry; | 15 | | (7) data collection, evaluation, and annual plan and | 16 | | reporting requirements; and | 17 | | (8) any other rules necessary to implement the | 18 | | program.
| 19 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 20 | | becoming law.
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