8 CCR 1204-9-1 - Definitions

1.1. "Agriculture" means the science and art of production of plants and animals useful to humans, including, to a variable extent, the preparation of these products for human use and their disposal by marketing or otherwise, and includes horticulture, floriculture, viticulture, forestry, dairy, livestock, poultry, bee, and any and all forms of farm products and farm production.

1.2. "Advisory Committee '' means the committee created in section 35-1-117(3)(b)(i), C.R.S., to recommend to and assist the Department with the development of grant applications for the Grant Program, a disbursement timeline for the grants; a rubric to evaluate grant applications, the evaluation of grant applications, and awarding grant money to eligible recipients.

1.3. "Award Period" means the period of time during which the Department will receive applications in support of Grant Awards from the Grant Program and includes the Department's time to process such applications.

1.4. "Awardee" means an applicant for a Grant Award that has been offered, or has received, a Grant Award from the CFA Grant Program. Also known as a beneficiary for purposes of SLFRF funding.

1.5. "BIPOC" means Black, Indigenous and People of Color. Pronounced "bye-pock," this is a term specific to the United States, intended to center the experiences of Black and Indigenous groups and demonstrate solidarity between communities of color.

1.6. "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Agriculture or the Commissioner's designee.

1.7. "Community Food Access Program (CFA Program or Program)" means the program created in section 35-1-117, C.R.S., to improve access to and lower prices for healthy foods in low-income and underserved areas of the state by supporting small-food retailers through grants and the Consortium.

1.8. "Community Food Consortium (Consortium)" means the community food consortium created in section 35-1-117(8)(a), C.R.S., to support small-food retailers and Colorado-owned and Colorado-operated farms by connecting them to resources, subsidizing distribution fees, and performing value chain coordination.

1.9. "Department" or "CDA" means the Colorado Department of Agriculture created in section 35-1-103, C.R.S.

1.10. "Direct Impact" means an increase in the distribution or sale of healthy food for a LILA community, or lowered price of healthy food for a LILA community, which can be reasonably attributed as an output from a Grant Award.

1.11. "Eligible Use" means an applicant's or Awardee's expense that qualifies as:

1.11.1. a necessary operating expense;

1.11.2. costly equipment purchase;

1.11.3. point of sales systems; or

1.11.4. accounting and book management necessary to fulfill an Awardee's requirements as set forth in Part 3 of this rule.

1.12. "Eligible Business" means a Small Family Farm or a Small Food Retailer that has been awarded a Grant Award for an Eligible Use.

1.13. "Farm Direct Operation" means a farm that sells Colorado grown or raised products directly to consumers.

1.14. "Grant Award" means a contractual award of funds to an Eligible Business through the Small Food Business Recovery and Resilience Grant Program.

1.15. "Grant Program" or "CFA Grant Program" means the Small Food Business Recovery and Resilience Grant Program created in section 35-1-117(3)(a), C.R.S.

1.16. "Healthy Food" means fresh, frozen, unprocessed or minimally processed produce; locally grown or raised products; other food items that may not be normally present in a particular location but that serve the culinary and health needs of a particular population; nutrient dense proteins and grains; or other foods meeting a local definition of "healthy" and that provide nutritional value for human health. Healthy food does not include prepared foods or hot and ready foods.

1.17. "Limited Supermarket Access Area" means an area where households have inadequate and inequitable access to supermarkets, based on income, distance to existing stores, and car ownership rates.

1.18. "Low-income, low-access community (LILA community)" means a residential area (rural, urban, semi-urban) whose residents are primarily low-income and who have limited access to affordable, healthy food.

1.19. "Minimally processed food" means a food that has been slightly altered for the main purpose of preservation, but which does not substantially change the nutritional content of the food. Examples include cleaning and removing inedible or unwanted parts, grinding, refrigeration, pasteurization, fermentation, freezing, and vacuum-packaging to permit food to be stored for a greater amount of time and remain safe to eat.

1.20. "Prepared Foods" means foods that are hot at the point of sale, or packaged food intended to be consumed immediately.

1.21. "Qualified Census Tract" means any census tract that is designated by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and, for the most recent year for which census data are available on household income in such tract, either in which 50 percent or more of the households have an income that is less than 60 percent of the area median gross income for such year or that has a poverty rate of at least 25 percent.

1.22. "Rural" means any population, housing, or territory not in an urban area as defined in this rule.

1.23. "Season extension" means any action or investment by a small family farmer or small food retailer that extends their growing season to support both the production and sale of healthy local food during times of the year when healthy local food is not traditionally available.

1.24. "Small Family Farm" means a farm that is Colorado-owned and Colorado-operated and has an annual gross revenue below three hundred fifty thousand dollars, as set forth in section 35-1-117(8)(d).

1.25. "Small Food Retailer" has the same meaning as set forth in section 35-1-117(8)(e)(I) and (II), C.R.S.

1.26. "SNAP" means the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program established in Part 3 of Article 2 of Title 26 of the Colorado Revised Statutes.

1.27. "Staple food" means food in the following categories: meat, poultry, or fish; bread or cereals; vegetables or fruits; and dairy products. The meat, poultry, or fish category also includes up to three types of plant-based protein sources (i.e., nuts/seeds, beans, and peas) as well as varieties of plant-based meat analogues (e.g., tofu). The dairy category also includes varieties of plant-based dairy alternative staple food items such as, but not limited to, almond milk and soy yogurt. Hot foods do not qualify as staple foods. Commercially processed foods and prepared mixtures with multiple ingredients that do not represent a single staple food category shall only be counted in one staple food category. "Staple food" does not include accessory food items, such as coffee, tea, cocoa, carbonated and uncarbonated drinks, candy, condiments, and spices.

1.28. "Technical Assistance'' means direct support provided to an applicant for a Grant Award or an Awardee to complete and submit an application for a Grant Award; to identify and gather required documentation to receive a Grant Award; to comply with reporting and invoicing requirements after a Grant Award is offered; and to provide assistance with any other direct support that advances funding of a Grant Award or use of a Grant Award. Technical Assistance may include translation and interpretation services upon request and as the Department determines necessary.

1.29. "Unprocessed food" means the natural edible food parts of plants and animals.

1.30. "Urban" means a densely settled core of census blocks that encompasses at least 2,000 housing units or that has a population of at least 5,000 people or that is identified in the 2020 "Census Qualifying Urban Areas and Final Criteria Clarifications," adopted by reference herein (87 Federal Register Vol. 87, No. 249, 80114; effective December 29, 2022). Material incorporated by reference does not include any later amendments or editions of the incorporated material. Copies of material incorporated by reference are available for public inspection during regular business hours and may be obtained at a reasonable charge or examined by contacting the Markets Division, Colorado Department of Agriculture, 305 Interlocken Parkway, Broomfield, CO 80021. Further, the incorporated material may be examined at no cost on the Internet at: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/12/29/2022-28286/2020-census-qualifying-urban-areas-and-final-criteria-clarifications.

Notes

8 CCR 1204-9-1

46 CR 17, September 10, 2023, effective 9/1/2023, exp. 12/7/2023 (Emergency) 46 CR 23, December 10, 2023, effective 12/30/2023