Frequently Asked Questions
Federal Level Legislation
Office of Small Farms Establishment Act
AIM supports - Would establish an Office of Small Farms within USDA, which would be tasked with ensuring that small farms, ranches, and forest operations have full access to USDA programs.
Senator Booker and Representative Strickland
State Level Legislation
FY 2027 Agriculture Appropriations Bill
AIM supports - Ensure farm and food businesses get the Business Technical Assistance (BTA) they need to thrive by increasing funding for USDA’s Local Agriculture Market Program (LAMP), Farming Opportunities Training and Outreach (FOTO), and the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program. Requesting full amount authorized for LAMP at $20 million and SARE at $60 million, as well as to provide $10 million in appropriations for FOTO.
AB 1731 (Wilson) - Healthy Food Procurement Fund Program
AIM supports - Directs the Office of Farm to Fork to establish an approved vendor program and procurement fund by 2028 to expand K–12 schools’ access to whole or minimally processed, California-grown foods produced using climate-smart agriculture.
Establish a continuous appropriation for the California Nutrition Incentive Program (CNIP)
AIM co-sponsors/supports - Request that the 2026-27 Budget include budget bill and trailer bill language to establish a permanent, ongoing General Fund appropriation for the California Nutrition Incentive Program (CNIP) to fund Market Match. Phased appropriation to scale up to a $50 million annual ongoing appropriation in the California Department of Food and Agriculture budget as follow:
FY 2026-27: $20 million
FY 2027-28: $30 million
FY 2028-29 and ongoing each fiscal year: $50 million
Fund every Certified Farmers’ Market in the state to match CalFresh spending on fresh fruits and vegetables, and increase the match from $15 to $20 per shopper per visit.
SB 917 (Laird) – Wine sales at Certified Farmers Markets
AIM supports, if amended - Would allow non-estate wineries to sell wine at farmers markets and empower farmers markets to decide how many permit holders to allow. Amendments requested:
1. Require 100% California-Sourced Grapes Maintains agricultural authenticity and supports California growers during the current wine industry crisis.
2. Require 25% of grapes to be grown by the Winery (CPC Standard) Expands eligibility from 165 wineries (2.8%) to 2,500-3,500 wineries (39-55%) while preserving agricultural classification.
3. Increase Sales Cap to 10,000 Gallons
AB 1734 - The Count Hunger Act
AIM supports - Would restore funding for the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) food screener study conducted by UCLA that was cut and a part of the Trump administration's recent cuts to SNAP-Ed. In October 2025, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) discontinued its annual hunger survey, the largest and most consistent dataset on food insecurity in the country. (Stefani)
AB 1875 (Aguiar-Curry) - Grocery Store Access Act
AIM supports - Prohibits restrictive covenants that limit grocery and supermarket use in order to expand food access, reduce food deserts, and improve food affordability and health outcomes.
AB 2227 (Connolly) - Farm Labor Contractors
AIM supports - Makes more money available to farmworkers who have suffered wage theft at the hands of farm labor contractors by increasing the bond amounts farm labor contractors are required to purchase to be licensed with the CA Labor Commissioners Office.
AB 2299 (Calderon) - California Anti-Hunger Response & Employment/Training (CARET) Act
AIM supports - Will provide state funded benefits for the ~660,000 Californians at risk of being cut off of CalFresh in 2026-27 due to the discriminatory federal work requirement time limit rules.
Local Food Purchase Assistance Program (LFPA), Farms Together, Budget Priority (Asm. Pellerin, Sen. Hurtado)
AIM supports - A values-based procurement program that invests in and connects small farmers and food hubs with local food banks. Seeking $45 million in General Funds for CDFA to sustain a previously $100 million federally-funded program threatening to collapse small farm businesses
Land Access for Socially Disadvantaged and Beginning Farmers Program (Assm Wilson)
AIM supports - A re-attempt via the budget process of last year’s CFFN priority: AB 524 (Wilson) - Farmland Access and Conservation for Thriving Communities Act). Seeking statutory language to guide Proposition 4 Climate Bond Investments that will provide financial or technical resources to support farmers with land tenure through a new program at the Dept of Conservation; requesting $15 million from Prop 4 (Sponsor: Community Alliance with Family Farmers as a steward of the Land Equity Collective)
School Meals for All
AIM supports - Include $1.87 billion in funding for School Meals for All, $100 million for Kitchen Infrastructure and Training, $25.2 million ongoing for the Farm to School Grant program, and $14.3 million for California’s Healthy School Food Pathway program.
AB 2171 (Patterson) - CalFresh Purchase Restrictions
AIM opposes - Seek a federal waiver from the United States Department of Agriculture prohibit CalFresh recipients from purchasing candy and sweetened drinks.
SB 1134 (Stickland) - CalFresh Purchase Restrictions
AIM opposes - Seek a federal waiver from the United States Department of Agriculture to prohibit CalFresh recipients from using CalFresh benefits to purchase soft drinks, candy, and prepackaged desserts.
SB 1419 (Alvarado-Gil) - Gutting the Farmer Equity Act
AIM opposes - Would remove women, minorities, and immigrants from inclusion in the definition of socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers