Cal. Food and Agricultural Code - FAC § 58596.1. Section 58596.1.
This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the Buy American Food Act.
CHAPTER 8. The Buy American Food Act [58596.1. - 58596.5.]
Cal. Food and Agricultural Code - FAC 8.
in effectCal. Food and Agricultural Code - FAC § 58596.2. Section 58596.2.
For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:
(a)
“Agricultural food product” means a fresh or processed product, including fruits, nuts, vegetables, herbs, mushrooms, dairy, shell eggs, honey, grains, livestock meats, poultry meats, and fish, including shellfish.
(b)
“Domestic” means inside of the United States.
(c)
“Local educational agency” has the same meaning as defined in Section 49557.5 of the Education Code.
(d)
“Nondomestic” means outside of the United States.
(e)
“Public
institution” means any state, city, or county agency, including a public postsecondary educational institution and a local educational agency as defined by this section.
(f)
“Public postsecondary educational institution” means the California Community Colleges and the California State University, but not the University of California.
Cal. Food and Agricultural Code - FAC § 58596.3. Section 58596.3.
(a)
A public institution that receives federal meal reimbursement funding to provide prepared meals and that solicits bids for the purchase of an agricultural food product shall include in their solicitation for bids and contracts that only the purchase of agricultural food products grown, packed, or processed domestically is authorized, unless any of the following applies:
(1)
The bid or price of the nondomestic agricultural food product is more than 25 percent lower than the bid or price of the domestic agricultural food product.
(2)
The quality of the domestic agricultural food product is inferior to the quality of the agricultural food product grown, packed, or produced
nondomestically.
(3)
The agricultural food product is not produced or manufactured domestically in sufficient and reasonably available quantities of a satisfactory quality to meet the needs of the public institution.
(b)
Subdivision (a) shall not apply to any of the following:
(1)
The Child and Adult Care Food Program.
(2)
The Summer Food Service Program.
(3)
The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
(c)
Subdivision (a) shall not apply to agricultural food products purchased by or provided to a public institution through the United States Department of Agriculture.
(d)
(1)
A public institution subject to this section shall retain documentation relating to bids or contracts for, and for the purchase of, agricultural food products for three years from the date of purchase.
(2)
The documentation required to be retained pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be made available to the public upon request during the applicable three-year period. The requirement of this paragraph may be satisfied by providing documentation that may include, but is not limited to, vendor invoices or contract specifications requiring that vendors meet the requirements of this section.
(e)
If a vendor substitutes an agricultural food product without notice or because a product is not available, the public institution shall not be in violation of this section.
(f)
This section
shall neither limit nor expand California’s obligations under the Agreement on Government Procurement of the World Trade Organization.
(g)
Local educational agencies with an annual federal meal reimbursement of less than one million dollars ($1,000,000) are exempt from this section.
(h)
(1)
This section shall become operative on January 1, 2024.
(2)
If an existing contract is in place between a public institution and a food supplier on January 1, 2024, this section shall apply to that public institution upon the next successive contract.
Cal. Food and Agricultural Code - FAC § 58596.4. Section 58596.4.
(a)
To monitor price gouging, any local educational agency participating in a federal school lunch or school meal program subject to subdivision (a) of Section 58596.3 may report to the State Department of Education any increases in the prices of agricultural food products that exceeds 25 percent of the previous year’s prices and is encouraged to retain documentation to support the complaint. Documentation may include, but is not limited to, an invoice, receipt, or bill of sale.
(b)
The State Department of Education shall annually post on its internet website the aggregate information on reports received from local educational agencies pursuant to subdivision (a) on price increases.
(c)
The State Department of Education shall add a question to the administrative review required pursuant to Section 210.18 of Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations (7 C.F.R. 210.18) regarding any increases of the price of agricultural food products and the annual costs associated with implementing Section 58596.3.
Cal. Food and Agricultural Code - FAC § 58596.5. Section 58596.5.
This chapter shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2029, and as of that date is repealed.
Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026