‘Resolve, To Facilitate the Distribution of Food Harvested in Maine to Residents with Food Insecurity’
Amend the resolve by striking out the title and substituting the following:
Amend the resolve by striking out everything after the title and before the summary and inserting the following:
‘Sec. 1. Finance Authority of Maine to select entity to provide food harvested in the State to residents with food insecurity and to administer funds. Resolved: That the Finance Authority of Maine, through the request for proposal process, shall select and contract with an appropriate statewide entity to purchase, process, store and transport fresh and fresh frozen fruits and vegetables and seafood harvested in the State in order to increase access to fresh and fresh frozen fruit and vegetables and seafood to residents of the State with food insecurity. When selecting the entity, the authority shall consult with and accept assistance from experts in the areas of agriculture, food security and public health. The entity selected must be qualified in the safe handling of food products by adhering to all local, state and federal food safety regulations, by participating in an annual 3rd-party food safety audit performed by a nationally certified auditor and having experience in the distribution of food to low-income populations. The authority shall administer the funds allocated for the purposes stated in this section until they are finally disbursed and may retain a portion of those funds for the reasonable costs of administering this section; and be it further
Sec. 2. Report. Resolved: That the Finance Authority of Maine, as a condition of the award of the contract pursuant to section 1, shall require the entity selected to submit a report by December 1st of 2016, 2017 and 2018 to the joint standing committees of the Legislature having jurisdiction over agriculture, conservation and forestry matters and over health and human services matters. Each report must contain information regarding the entity's progress on meeting the purposes of section 1, including how funds were expended, types and amount of fruits, vegetables and seafood purchased and how access and availability were increased, and the efforts needed, if any, to achieve the purpose of providing food harvested in the State to residents with food insecurity; and be it further
Sec. 3. Appropriations and allocations. Resolved: That the following appropriations and allocations are made.
FINANCE AUTHORITY OF MAINE
Maine Harvested Food Products for Residents with Food Insecurity N222
Initiative: Allocates funds on a one-time basis to provide fresh and fresh frozen fruits and vegetables and seafood harvested in the State to residents of the State with food insecurity.
| FUND FOR A HEALTHY MAINE | 2015-16 | 2016-17 |
|
All Other
|
$0 | $3,000,000 |
 |
|
|
| FUND FOR A HEALTHY MAINE TOTAL | $0 | $3,000,000 |
summary
This amendment makes changes to the process by which the Finance Authority of Maine selects an entity to implement the program in the bill by requiring the authority to consult with relevant experts and clarifying the food safety qualifications the selected entity must possess. The amendment specifies that fresh and fresh frozen fruits and vegetables harvested in Maine must be provided through the program.
The amendment clarifies that the program will be funded through a transfer of $3,000,000 from the Fund for a Healthy Maine on a one-time basis and the authority is directed to administer the funds allocated for the program only until they are finally disbursed. The amendment requires the selected entity to submit a report to both the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over agriculture, conservation and forestry matters and the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over health and human services matters by December 1st of 2016, 2017 and 2018.
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED
(See attached)