1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to agriculture; establishing a headwaters community food and water 
1.3 	economic resiliency program; appropriating money;proposing coding for new 
1.4 	law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 17.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. [17.995] HEADWATERS COMMUNITY FOOD AND WATER  
1.7 	ECONOMIC RESILIENCY PROGRAM.
1.8 		Subdivision 1.Definitions. (a) For purposes of this section, the following terms have  
1.9 	the meanings given.
1.10 	(b) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of agriculture.
1.11 	(c) "Regenerative food web" means a decentralized, coordinated system for managing 
1.12 	energy regeneratively in every component of a locally adapted food economy from source 
1.13 	to table that is designed to be inclusive, create capacity for health and well-being, foster a 
1.14 	culture of caring, and recognize the fundamental interdependent relationship of people and 
1.15 	nature.
1.16 		Subd. 2.Program; purpose. The commissioner must administer a headwaters community 
1.17 	food and water economic resiliency program. The purpose of the program is to facilitate 
1.18 	the establishment and maintenance of local and regional regenerative food webs to address 
1.19 	in a sustainable manner the enduring challenges of food, water, and climate. The 
1.20 	commissioner must develop and administer the program in consultation with the advisory 
1.21 	committee established under subdivision 4.
2.1 		Subd. 3.Methods. The commissioner must achieve the purpose in subdivision 2 through 
2.2 	multiple methods, including but not limited to:
2.3 	(1) providing financial and technical assistance for urban and rural producers engaged 
2.4 	in organic, regenerative food systems to respond to demands for dependable food supply 
2.5 	chains in the face of unpredictable weather and to normalize access to affordable, culturally 
2.6 	relevant, locally produced, fresh, prepared, and preserved food sources daily in our schools 
2.7 	and our communities;
2.8 	(2) providing financial and technical assistance for physical infrastructure including:
2.9 	(i) facilities for aggregation, storage, composting, greenhouses, seed saving, 
2.10 	weather-resilient water management systems, and research;
2.11 	(ii) marketing and distribution sites including neighborhood food commons and kitchens 
2.12 	equipped for food preparation and preservation; and
2.13 	(iii) existing hubs and learning centers;
2.14 	(3) providing financial and technical assistance for operational infrastructure in every 
2.15 	component of the food web including:
2.16 	(i) production, preparation, and preservation;
2.17 	(ii) neighborhood based food commons;
2.18 	(iii) reusable storage, distribution, and waste elimination systems;
2.19 	(iv) emergency preparation and recovery operations;
2.20 	(v) aggregation;
2.21 	(vi) delivery, distribution, and storage systems designed to be responsive to daily and 
2.22 	seasonal needs that remove growers and producers responsibility for transporting harvests 
2.23 	to market sites;
2.24 	(vii) leadership training and network facilitation; and
2.25 	(viii) the local and regional partnerships necessary to support regenerative food web 
2.26 	operations;
2.27 	(4) providing financial and technical assistance to advance the revival of food cultures 
2.28 	defined by Black people, Indigenous people, and people of color;
2.29 	(5) providing funding for long-term holistic, in-situ research throughout the regenerative 
2.30 	food web to utilize and document local ecological knowledge, conduct seed and plant 
3.1 	exchange, and establish perennial, weather resilient landscapes to restore vital biological 
3.2 	diversity and ground water;
3.3 	(6) providing a financial investment fund to offer training and to establish new members 
3.4 	of the food web including regenerative growers and teams of skilled culinary staff of all 
3.5 	racial identities, including community members who identify as Black, Indigenous, and 
3.6 	people of color to participate as employees in the food web economy including individual, 
3.7 	cooperative, and small-scale operations;
3.8 	(7) providing affordable and accessible health care for every member of the food web 
3.9 	economy to ensure that the system is economically robust and can operate effectively; and
3.10 	(8) establishing a fund to make fruits and vegetables affordable for all income levels.
3.11 		Subd. 4.Advisory committee. (a) The Headwaters Community Food and Water 
3.12 	Economic Resiliency Advisory Committee is established and consists of the commissioner 
3.13 	and persons from urban and rural communities who represent the following groups, as 
3.14 	appointed by the commissioner: local regenerative and organic farmers; neighborhood food 
3.15 	hubs; cooperatives; culinary schools; local food restaurateurs; community organizers; food 
3.16 	council members; system managers; scientists; researchers; students; and public health 
3.17 	officials. Members may be employed in the web economy and must include leaders who 
3.18 	are Black, Indigenous, and people of color.
3.19 	The commissioner may remove members and fill vacancies as provided in section 15.059, 
3.20 	subdivision 4.
3.21 	(b) The advisory committee must advise the commissioner regarding the establishment 
3.22 	and operation of the headwaters community food and water economic resiliency program, 
3.23 	including but not limited to program criteria, eligibility guidelines, application processes, 
3.24 	monitoring and accountability mechanisms, leveraging additional public and private 
3.25 	investments, and promoting the program statewide.
3.26 	(c) The commissioner must convene the advisory committee at least two times per year 
3.27 	to advise the commissioner in performance of the committee's duties.
3.28 	(d) The commissioner must provide staffing, meeting space, and administrative services 
3.29 	for the advisory committee.
3.30 	(e) The commissioner or the commissioner's designee is the chair of the committee.
3.31 	(f) Public members of the advisory committee serve without compensation or payment 
3.32 	of expenses.

4.1 	Sec. 2. APPROPRIATION.
 4.2 	$....... in fiscal year 2024 and $....... in fiscal year 2025 are appropriated from the general 
4.3 	fund to the commissioner of agriculture for purposes of the headwaters community food 
4.4 	and water economic resiliency program.