NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS
LOCAL GOVERNMENT MEHKO ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
AB 178 GRANTS TO LOCAL CODE ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES
BACKGROUND
In June 2023, the State of California appropriated funding in accordance with Assembly Bill AB 178 – Budget Act of 2022, to assist local health departments and city code enforcement implement programs relating to Micro Enterprise Home Kitchen Operations (MEHKOs) and other in-home retail food preparation and sales. California’s Micro Enterprise Home Kitchen Operations program was established by AB 626 (2018). This grant program is being administered by CCDEH under the direction of the California Workforce Development Board (WDB).
These funds will be distributed using the following methods:
- Reimbursement grants to local Environmental Health jurisdictions and code enforcement agencies, and;
- Entitlement / block grants to local Environmental Health jurisdictions (Application deadline for this grant has passed)
Detailed information and application materials for each grant are found below.
Applicants may apply if they are able to document any unrecovered expenses over the time period that applies to their grant category (reimbursement or block/entitlement; please see the descriptions of each grant category below). Documentation may include worksheets, time cards or internal budgets and financial reports.
The Workforce Development Board and/or CCDEH may require a financial review of records being provided by your jurisdiction to verify eligibility under this program. The cost of a fiscal review shall be covered by the awardee.
Local Environmental Health Jurisdiction Reimbursement Grant Option
PURPOSE
The purpose of this state-funded reimbursement grant program is to assist local Environmental Health jurisdictions with costs incurred from activities related to Micro Enterprise Home Kitchen Operations (MEHKOs) in accordance with Assembly Bill AB 178 – Budget Act of 2022.
- Approximately $314,000 is available to local Environmental Health jurisdictions to reimburse unrecovered expenses incurred from activities related to home kitchen laws and ordinances.
- The funds will be available on a reimbursement basis and will be disbursed through a first come, first served process until funds are exhausted.
- Local Environmental Health jurisdictions may apply if they are able to document unrecovered expenses during the period from June 7, 2023 through November 30, 2025.
- Local Environmental Health jurisdictions that received entitlement/block grant funding through the MEHKO grant must exhaust those funds before applying for a MEHKO reimbursement grant.
- Initial awards for a single jurisdiction are limited to $20,000.00; additional funding may be available later in the grant cycle if funds are still available.
Code Enforcement Agency Reimbursement Grant Option
PURPOSE
The purpose of this state-funded reimbursement grant program is to assist local (city and/or county) code enforcement agencies with costs incurred from activities related to Micro Enterprise Home Kitchen Operations (MEHKOs) in accordance with Assembly Bill AB 178 – Budget Act of 2022.
- Approximately $447,000 is available to local code enforcement agencies to reimburse unrecovered expenses incurred from activities related to home kitchen laws and ordinances.
- The funds will be available on a reimbursement basis and will be disbursed through a first come, first served process until funds are exhausted.
- Code enforcement agency applicants may apply if they are able to document unrecovered expenses during the period from June 7, 2023 through November 30, 2025
- Initial awards for a single jurisdiction are limited to $20,000.00; additional funding may be available later in the grant cycle if funds are still available.
Past Grant Option: Environmental Health Jurisdiction Entitlement / Block Grants
- The application deadline for these grants has passed
- Environmental Health jurisdictions that received these grants must submit their final grant reports by
May 31, 2025 (This deadline has been extended to November 30, 2025.)
PURPOSE
The purpose of this state-funded grant program as described in the enabling legislation and the grant agreement between the Workforce Development Board (WDB) and CCDEH is to “to assist local health departments and city code enforcement agencies to apply for reimbursements for costs incurred from the development of application forms, permitting processes, and initial site inspections and for city code enforcement activities related to Micro Enterprise Home Kitchen Operations (MEHKOs) in accordance with Assembly Bill AB 178 – Budget Act of 2022”. This grant program is being administered by CCDEH under the direction of the California Workforce Development Board (WDB).
Funds are available for expenses incurred by local Environmental Health jurisdictions between June 7, 2023 until November 30, 2025 for direct support in implementing the MEHKO program, including program development, public outreach, offsetting permit fees, and enforcement. This assistance will be augmented by technical assistance provided through the California Conference of Directors of Environmental health (CCDEH). Funding will be provided to qualifying local EH and code enforcement agencies that have applied for funding by or before the application deadline. This grant program is being administered by CCDEH under the direction of the California Workforce Development Board (WDB).
Grant allocation breakdown to the local retail food enforcement agencies is:
- 25% to local enforcement agencies with adopted MEHKO ordinances based on the number of permitted MEHKOs as of December 31, 2022.
- 50% to local agencies in process of or considering approving a MEHKO ordinance.
- 25% to all local enforcement agencies across the state based on total number of permitted retail food facilities, incorporating a maximum for very large jurisdictions and a base-minimum for smaller jurisdictions.
Local Environmental Health Departments may receive a small slice of the grant depending on what budget you are in using this tiered approach. CCDEH will get back to you on the allocation amount.
General MEHKO Program Resources
This is a spreadsheet with links listing a wide range of MEHKO-related resources, ranging from ordinances to applications and outreach materials being used by various Environmental Health jurisdictions statewide.
Grant Reporting
For transparency regarding the use of public money, CCDEH shall publish information about the disbursement of the California Workforce Development Board MEHKO entitlement and reimbursement grants, including a list of grantees, amounts awarded to each grantee, and amounts disbursed to each grantee, on a publicly-accessible section of the CCDEH website. Information about the reimbursement grants, where money is made available on first-come, first-serve basis, shall be updated periodically and shall be maintained available on the publicly-accessible section of the CCDEH website. This information shall remain on the CCDEH website for twelve months after the end of the grant period.
California Conference of Directors of Environmental Health (CCDEH)
Elizabeth Morgan, MPH, REHS
MEHKO Grant Management Consultant
ElizabethMorgan@ccdeh.com
(530) 251-6920 cell
Kendra Wise, MS, REHS
MEHKO Technical Consultant & Training
KendraWise@ccdeh.com
(805) 448-4321 cell
Sheryl Baldwin, Manager
Project Manager & Accountant
California Conference of Directors of Environmental Health (CCDEH)
sheryl@ccdeh.com
Michele Cowdery
Administrative Assistant
California Conference of Directors of Environmental Health (CCDEH)
michele@ccdeh.com