SB1704sam001 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Sen. Linda Holmes

Filed: 3/14/2019

10100SB1704sam001 LRB101 09083 SLF 57839 a

AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1704

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 1704 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Illinois Harvest to Homes Pilot Program Act.

Section 3. Legislative findings. The General Assembly finds that:

(1) In this State, nearly 1,500,000 people are struggling with hunger and of them 450,000 are children.

(2) This State has a potential agricultural surplus of 2,600 acres.

(3) Reporting shows that 50% of food grown is lost before consumption, including product that is not suitable for sale, but still edible.

(4) Providing funding to connect agricultural surplus with food banks can reduce food insecurity within vulnerable populations.

Section 5. Pilot program. Subject to appropriation, the Department of Agriculture, with meaningful input from stakeholders, shall develop an Illinois Harvest to Home Pilot Program for a period of 5 years under which eligible entities may receive funding annually to provide agriculture surplus to communities of need.

Section 10. Advisory Council. The program shall be administered by an organization selected by the Department and approved by the advisory council. The organization chosen must be a statewide organization whose membership is food banks. The advisory council will assist in the development of program rules and implementation. The advisory council shall be comprised of:

(1) one representative from the Department of Agriculture, designated by the Director of Agriculture;

(2) one representative from the Department of Human Services Illinois Commission to End Hunger;

(3) one representative from the Emergency Food System Working Group;

(4) one representative from the lead organization representing food banks;

(5) one representative from the State's largest general farm organization;

(6) one representative from the largest statewide organization representing specialty crops;

(7) one representative from the largest organization representing farmers markets;

(8) one representative from a non-profit organization focused on expanding access to healthy, local, sustainable food in the Chicago area; and

(9) one representative from a statewide organization working with farmers that specialize in sustainable and local food.

Section 15. Rulemaking. The Department of Agriculture shall adopt rules to implement the program no later than 90 days after the effective date of this Act. These rules shall include, but are not limited to, entities and action eligible for funding, methods to connect growers to food banks and social service agencies, and methods to identify sources of surpluses. Aspects of the program that are eligible for funding may include:

(1) reimbursement to growers for picking, packing, and processing agricultural surplus;

(2) transportation to the food banks and social service agencies;

(3) reimbursement to food banks and social service agencies for storage and distribution costs;

(4) capacity building grants for food banks and social service agencies to invest in facility upgrades for processing agricultural surplus;

(5) marketing and promotional activities related to the pilot program; and

(6) program administration.

Section 20. Reporting. An annual report shall be submitted from the advisory council, lead organization, and Department of Agriculture annually. After 3 years from the date of implementation of the Illinois Harvest to Homes Pilot Program and after 5 years from the date of implementation of the pilot program, the Department of Agriculture, in consultation with the Department of Human Services Commission to End Hunger shall submit a report to the General Assembly which documents the number of people served by the program information regarding the program's implementation.

Section 25. Repeal. This Act is repealed on July 1, 2026.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.".