AN ACT to create a grant program to support nonprofit organizations address food insecurity, and to appropriate money for purposes consistent with that program.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.(a)  Purpose. – The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (Department) shall establish a grant program to support nonprofit organizations in addressing food insecurity. The Department shall be responsible for administering the program.

SECTION 1.(b)  Reporting Requirements. – The Department shall submit a report by September 30 of each year to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Agriculture and Natural and Economic Resources, the chairs of the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee on Agriculture and Natural and Economic Resources, the chairs of the Senate Appropriations Committee on Natural and Economic Resources, and the Fiscal Research Division. This report shall include the allocation of grant funds and the amount of all expenditures of the funds during the prior fiscal year.

SECTION 1.(c)  Administrative Expenses. – Of the funds appropriated to the Department, up to three percent (3%) may be used to administer the grant program.

SECTION 2.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services the sum of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) in nonrecurring funds for the 2024‑2025 fiscal year to be used for purposes consistent with this act.

SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2024.