Salton Settlement Fund (California)

The Salton Settlement Fund was the result of a settlement of an antitrust complaint brought by the California Attorney General and other state attorneys general against the Salton Corporation for alleged resale price maintenance and other anti-competitive conduct in the sale of Salton Contact Grills. Before going to trial and without admitting liability, Salton agreed to a court order prohibiting certain conduct in the sale of its indoor cooking grills including agreements to set retail prices. As part of this settlement, Salton also agreed to pay approximately $7.6 million to resolve claims of compensatory damages. Each state was allocated a portion of this amount based on population. California’s share was approximately $800,000. Because of the impracticability of identifying grill purchasers, potentially differing amounts of damages, the high cost of administering a check refund program relative to the potential average award and other factors, the settlement called for distributing funds on a state-by-state basis to not-for-profit corporations, charitable organizations and government entities to advance health or nutrition-related causes.

The Grants Process in California

After issuing a Notice of Grants Process for Health and Nutrition Projects Benefiting California Consumers, receiving and reviewing nearly 600 Letters of Inquiry (requesting over $62 million) from nonprofit organizations and public agencies across California, inviting 14 organizations and agencies to submit full Grant Applications, conducting a due diligence review of the applications (requesting $1.9 million), including site visits of applicants, the California Attorney General requested and obtained Court approval for the following grants from the Salton Settlement Fund.

Grants Awarded From Salton Settlement Fund

• California School Boards Foundation / California School Boards Association ($95,000) to inform school board members and county superintendents about the need for district-wide policies that will improve nutrition in schools and provide technical assistance to school board members and superintendents in developing and implementing such policies.
  
  
• City & County of San Francisco Department of the Environment ($150,000) to organize and operate a pilot farmers' market in the Bayview/Hunters Point neighborhood of San Francisco.
  
  
• Children's Hospital of Los Angeles ($98,000) to improve the fitness and nutrition of overweight or obese children by expanding its Kids N Fitness Program to South Central and East Los Angeles.
  
  
• Congress of California Seniors Education and Research Fund ($88,000) to conduct an education program to educate mid-life and senior women in California about necessary precautions to take when undertaking a new dietary regime or using nutritional or dietary supplements.
  
  
• Latino Health Access ($75,000) to increase access to exercise and physical activity for low-income children in Santa Ana, California.
  
  
• Public Media Center ($112,000) to conduct a consumer education campaign focused on teen obesity targeting 600 high school journalism programs and newspapers published by high school students.
  
  
• University of California, Davis ($75,000) to conduct a telemedicine-based obesity prevention project for children living on the Hoopa, Round Valley and Feather River Reservation.
  
  
• Tulare County Health and Human Services Agency ($100,000) to develop a community-designed action plan to improve nutrition and physical activity habits of children living in low-income communities in Tulare County.
  
  
• Venice Family Clinic ($105,000) to improve the delivery of obesity prevention services to low income children in West Los Angeles County through improved screening, tracking, education and referral of pediatric patients who are at risk and to work with local agencies to increase access to physical activities.