Section 43.23.NEW-002 - [Newly enacted section not yet numbered] WASHINGTON COMMODITIES DONATION GRANT PROGRAM(1) The department must implement the Washington commodities donation grant program established in this section. The purpose of the program is to procure Washington grown produce, grains, and protein otherwise at risk of ending up as food waste for distribution to hunger relief organizations for use in Washington state.(2) The program established in this section must, to the extent practicable: (a) Rely upon existing infrastructure and similar grant programs currently being implemented in Washington, in order to maximize the beneficial impacts of the program in the short-term, and to expeditiously enable the distribution of grants under this section;(b) Be designed to achieve efficiencies of scale by the grant recipients carrying out food acquisitions and distributions and to target large volume food acquisition opportunities;(c) Give priority to recipient organizations that have at least five years of experience coordinating the collection and transportation of donated agricultural products to food bank distributors, food bank distribution centers, or both, for redistribution to local hunger relief agencies; and(d) Provide for equitable benefits experienced from the program by food producers of varying sizes and types, including minority and vulnerable farmers, including veterans, women, and federally recognized Indian tribes.(3) The department must issue grants under this section to one or more nonprofit organizations to acquire food directly from food producers located in Washington. A recipient nonprofit organization may use funds under this section to compensate food producers donating commodities for pick and pack out costs incurred associated with the production of a food product, including costs of food product inputs and harvest, and for their marginal postharvest logistical and administrative costs that facilitate the acquisition and distribution of the food product by grant recipients.(4) An organization that receives funds under this section must report the results of the project to the department in a manner prescribed by the department.Added by 2024 c 341,§ 204, eff. 6/6/2024.