§ 17b-790c — Food and nutrition policy analysts. Employment by Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity and Opportunity. Definitions. Duties. Reporting requirements.

(a) As used in this section: (1) “Food insecurity” means a household-level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to sufficient and nutritionally adequate food; (2) “Food insecurity program” means a nutrition program in the state intended for households with limited or uncertain access to sufficient and nutritionally adequate food; (3) “Food desert” means an area identified as a food desert in the Food Access Research Atlas produced by the United States Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service; (4) “Food as medicine” means nutritional and meal preparation planning directed by a qualified health professional to treat chronic health conditions, including, but not limited to, cardiovascular conditions, cardiopulmonary conditions, prediabetes, diabetes, obesity and renal conditions. (5) “Food recovery organization” means a public or private entity, including, but not limited to, a community-based organization, food bank, food pantry or soup kitchen, that, on a nonprofit basis and in the ordinary course of such entity's business or operations, provides nutritional assistance to individuals in the state who are in need of such assistance, free of charge; and (6) “Nutritionally adequate food” means food that provides sufficient nutrients and proteins consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommended by the United States Department of Agriculture and the United States Department of Health and Human Services. (b) The executive director of the Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity and Opportunity, subject to the approval of the Joint Committee on Legislative Management pursuant to section 2-127 , shall recruit and employ a person to serve as a food and nutrition policy analyst to help coordinate efforts in the state to reduce food insecurity, reduce or eliminate the number of food deserts, promote food as medicine and provide data on access to nutritionally adequate food. (c) The food and nutrition policy analyst shall, at a minimum, have a bachelor's degree in public health or public administration or equivalent experience in food and health policy, including, but not limited to, demonstrated knowledge of food insecurity issues, the impact of the availability of nutritionally adequate food on public health, and policies surrounding Medicaid coverage of food as medicine. Duties of the analyst shall include, but not be limited to: (1) Creating an interactive program that allows a user to insert a home address and receive data on local food recovery organizations, food insecurity programs, farmers markets, supermarkets and information on available government programs, including, but not limited to, supplemental nutrition assistance, the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children and free or reduced cost school meal programs; (2) Creating an interactive map program that provides comparative food insecurity data by city, county or census tract within the state by average distance that must be traveled within such area for nutritionally adequate food, number and location of food deserts and costs of nutritionally adequate food in such area compared to the state or county average of such cost; (3) Creating a database and updating such database not less frequently than every two years listing food recovery organizations, food insecurity programs, supermarket locations and agricultural producers of food available for sale directly to the public; (4) Producing and submitting to the executive director an annual report on the state of food insecurity in the state; (5) Administering a community-focused work group comprised of an equal number of representatives from local food recovery organizations, local food insecurity programs, local supermarket owners, agricultural producers of food and representatives of other working groups appointed by the General Assembly or executive branch to develop new best practices and initiatives concerning food security; (6) Promoting public awareness of access to nutritionally adequate food and food as medicine, including planning public events focused on solutions to food insecurity; and (7) Working with state agencies involved in food security efforts and the executive director and staff of the Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity and Opportunity to enhance public health by promoting equitable access to nutritionally adequate food. (d) The executive director of the Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity and Opportunity shall include on the commission's Internet web site links to any programs, data and reports produced by the food and nutrition policy analyst pursuant to subsection (b) of this section. Not later than January 15, 2024, and annually thereafter, the food and nutrition policy analyst shall compile such data into a report and the executive director shall submit the report along with recommendations to reduce food insecurity, in accordance with section 11-4a , to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to aging, the environment, human services, planning and development and public health.

Legislative History

(P.A. 23-204, S. 154, 155.) History: P.A. 23-204, S. 154, codified by the Revisors as Subsec. (a), and S. 155, codified by the Revisors as Subsecs. (b) to (d), effective July 1, 2023.