(a) The Legislature finds and declares that the state strives to serve National School Lunch Program meals of the highest quality and greatest nutritional value possible.

(b) Upon appropriation by the Legislature, and contingent upon allocations provided by the federal Consolidated Appropriations Act, the department shall provide a state matching grant of up to one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) to a school food authority participating in the federal National School Lunch Program that applies for and is awarded a federal Equipment Assistance Grant for School Food Authorities from the department in its administration of the federal National School Lunch Program. The state appropriation shall be for a minimum of two years and shall align with the United States Department of Agriculture National School Lunch Program Equipment Grant for School Food Authorities terms and conditions, period of performance, criteria, timelines, and procurement and funding expenditure requirements.

(c) A school food authority may use the federal and state grants for up to five individual schoolsites or may combine the federal and state grants for one purpose, such as creating a centralized industrial kitchen. The state matching assistance grant shall be competitively awarded and shall align with the federal equipment assistance grant requirements pursuant to subdivision (b). Unspent state matching grant funds shall be retained by the department for one or more additional equipment grants, subject to the same requirements.

(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 497, Sec. 71. (AB 991) Effective January 1, 2020.)