U.S. Senators introduce bill to help eradicate food deserts
U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.), and Bob Casey (D-Pa.) have introduced the first comprehensive legislation in the U.S. Senate to target food deserts by incentivizing foodservice providers such as grocers, retailers, and nonprofits to help eradicate these areas.
U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.), and Bob Casey (D-Pa.) have introduced the first comprehensive legislation in the U.S. Senate to target food deserts by incentivizing foodservice providers such as grocers, retailers, and nonprofits to help eradicate these areas. The bipartisan Healthy Food Access for All Americans (HFAAA) Act creates a system of tax credits and grants for businesses and nonprofits who serve these low-income and low-access urban and rural areas.
The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) defines a food desert as an area where a grocery store is not available within a mile in urban communities or 10 miles in rural areas. This bill expands on that definition by adding U.S. census tracts with a poverty rate of 20%+ or a median family income of less than 80% of the median for the state or metro area. The legislation also defines a grocery market as a retail sales store with at least 35% of its selection dedicated to selling fresh produce, poultry, dairy, and deli items.
To qualify for a tax credit or grant for servicing qualifying food deserts, businesses and nonprofits must be certified as a “Special Access Food Provider” (SAFP) by the Treasury Dept. and the USDA. The Healthy Food Access for All Americans Act qualifies as SAFPs those businesses and nonprofits who service food deserts through the following:
- New Store Construction: Companies that construct new grocery stores in a food desert will receive a onetime 15% tax credit (of the property plan and construction) after receiving certification as an SAFP.
- Retrofitting Existing Structures: Companies that make retrofits to an existing store’s healthy food sections can receive a onetime 10% tax credit after the repairs certify the store as an SAFP.
- Food Banks: Food banks that build new (permanent) structures in food deserts will be eligible to receive a onetime 15% grant in lieu of taxes, after certification as an SAFP.
- Temporary Access Merchants: Temporary access merchants (i.e., mobile markets, farmers’ markets, and some food banks) that are 501(3)s will receive grants in lieu of taxes in the amount of 10% of their service costs for that year.
Bill summary (pdf)