<div><a href="https://www.moran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ID=8739E613-006C-4011-891B-414138E54BFF">Sens. Moran, Warner Introduce First Comprehensive</a> <a href="https://www.moran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ID=8739E613-006C-4011-891B-414138E54BFF">Senate Bill to Encourage Food Service Providers to</a> <a href="https://www.moran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ID=8739E613-006C-4011-891B-414138E54BFF">Help Eradicate Food Deserts</a> Bipartisan legislation would provide grocers, retailers, nonprofits with incentives to service food-scarce communities Aug 03 2017 WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.), and Bob Casey (D-Pa.) this week introduced the first comprehensive legislation in the U.S. Senate to target food deserts by incentivizing food service 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. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), an estimated 37 million Americans live in a food desert. “Living in the breadbasket of our nation, we can often forget how prevalent hunger and thelack of access to healthy food in our own communities can be,” said Sen. Moran. “However, hunger and food insecurity are very real and threaten nearly 1 in 6Kansans. The Healthy Food Access for All Americans Act would incentivize food providers to establish themselves in communities where people lack access to healthy, affordablefood by encouraging the construction and establishment of grocery stores, food banks andfarmers markets. All Kansans and Americans, regardless of where they live, deserveaccess to healthy food.” “More than one million Virginians find themselves in low- income areas with no reliable source of healthy food, placing themselves at higher risk of diabetes, obesity, and heart disease,” said Sen. Warner. “Every person should have access to affordable and nutritious food regardless of where they live. By incentivizing food producers to go into communities where food access is a problem, we can help guarantee that fresh fruits and vegetables are available in the places where they are needed most.” 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 percent (or higher) or a median family income of less than 80 percent 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 percent of its selection dedicated to selling fresh produce, poultry, dairy and deli items. “Bread for the World is encouraged to see a bipartisan effort to address food deserts and improve access to nutritious food in low-income and underserved communities in America. Hunger costs the U.S. economy at least $160 billion in poor health outcomes and additional health care costs every year. This bill is an important step to reduce hunger and improve health across the country,” Bread for the World Director of Government Relations Eric Mitchell said. “Independent retail supermarkets and the wholesalers that supply them play a vital role in the communities they serve through access to food items and as a contributor to the local economy. The National Grocers Association has long supported the bipartisan efforts to find solutions to address the lack of food access in rural and urban areas and working towards strong private-public partnerships to address the barriers to entry faced by grocers in these underserved communities. We thank Senators Warner, Moran, Casey, and Capito for their efforts on the Healthy Food Access for All Americans Act and look forward to working with Congress to move this important piece of legislation forward,” National Grocers Association SVP of Government Relations and Public Affairs Greg Ferrara said. Sen. Moran, co-chair of the Senate Hunger Caucus, has long been an advocate for making certain all Americans have access to healthy and nutritious food. He previously chaired the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, which allocates funding for food programs that reduce hunger in rural and urban communities. He remains a member of that subcommittee. The full list of organizations supporting the Healthy Food Access for All Americans (HFAAA) Act includes: Bread for the World, Feeding America, Food Marketing Institute, Food Policy Action, Food Research and Action Center, Food Trust, Local Initiatives Support Corporation, National Grocers Association, U.S. Conference of Mayors, Reinvestment Fund, and Share Our Strength. In order to qualify for a tax credit or grant for servicing qualifying food deserts, business and nonprofits must be certified as a “Special Access Food Provider” (SAFP) by the Treasury Department and USDA. The Healthy Food Access for All Americans Act qualifies as SAFPs those businesses and nonprofits who service food deserts through the following: <ul><li>New Store Construction: Companies that construct new grocery stores in a food desert will receive a onetime 15 percent tax credit (of the property plan and construction) after receiving certification from a regional CDE and Treasury/USDA as an SAFP.</li></ul> <ul><li>Retrofitting Existing Structures: Companies that make retrofits to an existing store’s healthy food sections can receive a onetime 10 percent tax credit after the repairs certify the store as an SAFP.</li></ul> <ul><li>Food Banks: Food banks that build new (permanent) structures in food deserts will be eligible to receive a onetime 15 percent grant in lieu of taxes, after certification as an SAFP.</li></ul> <ul><li>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 percent of their service costs for that year.</li></ul> To read the full text of the bill, click <a href="https://www.moran.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/d/5/d5cfa065-bfc6-4831-85cf-08ac201f15a9/BDD2D09A6452697E9A8277835E6C67CA.hfaaa-final-bill.pdf">here</a>. A summary of the bill can be found <a href="https://www.moran.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/3/1/3130231f-a391-4b55-8979-910fcdd2a32c/A81D6523109F75D73775C99A5C30668F.hfaaa-summary-final.pdf">here</a>. For a map of areas in the United States that would qualify to be served as food deserts under this bill, click <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-access-research-atlas/go-to-the-atlas.aspx">here</a>. ### Healthy Food Access for All Americans (HFAAA) Act Currently, an estimated 37 million Americans live in what the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) classifies as a food desert – not living within a mile of a grocery store in urban communities or 10 miles of a grocery store in rural areas. The lack of healthy food options has devastating effects on the health of communities, leading to higher incidents of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. HFAAA would provide incentives to food providers to expand access to healthy foods in these underserved communities and reduce the number of food deserts nationwide. How does it work? For the purposes of this legislation, a food desert is defined by the USDA metric of living one (or more) miles away from a grocery market in urban areas and living 10 or more miles away from a grocery market of the same tier in rural regions. However, the bill adds a provision that only food deserts that have a poverty rate tract of 20% (or higher) or a median family income tract of less than 80% of the median for the state or metro area, will be applicable. A grocery market would be defined as a retail sales store with at least 35% of its selection dedicated to selling fresh produce, poultry, dairy, and deli items. Food providers who service low access communities could submit applications to the Treasury Department for certification as a “Special Access Food Provider (SAFP).” With this designation, providers would receive specified tax credits or grants for servicing food deserts based on the following structure: New Store Construction- Companies that construct new grocery stores in a food desert will receive a onetime 15% tax credit after receiving certification. 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- Certified food banks that build new (permanent) structures in food deserts will be eligible to receive a onetime grant for 15% of their construction costs. Temporary Access Merchants- Certified temporary access merchants (i.e. mobile markets, farmers markets, and some food banks) that are 501©(3)s ) will receive grants for 10% of their annual operating costs. The Treasury Department along with the Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) at USDA would certify merchants as SAFP’s based on the following metrics: Tax credit: 1. Must build or retrofit a store in a food desert. 2. Must have forecasted grocery inventory of at least 35%. 3. Must submit a formal project proposal to USDA. 4. Other metrics as determined by the Secretaries of Treasury and Agriculture. Grants for new construction of permanent food banks: 1. Must submit a formal project proposal to USDA. 2. Other metrics as determined by the Secretaries of Treasury and Agriculture. Grants for temporary access structures: 1. Must service a food desert for at least five days and fifty hours every week, or distribute an “adequate” amount of food as determined by USDA. 2. Must be a non-profit under 501©(3). 3. Must submit a formal project proposal to USDA. 4. Other metrics as determined by the Secretaries of Treasury and Agriculture. Phase Out: To track progress nationally and locally, USDA’s Food Access Research Atlas will be updated annually to account for areas that are no longer low access.</div>

Moran, Warner Announce Healthy Food Incentive Bill

U.S. Senate

The Healthy Food Access for All Americans Act would provide a tax credit for food producers to help ensure communities have access to fresh fruit and vegetables, Senate Finance Committee member Mark R. Warner, D-Va., and Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., said in an August 3 release.

The Healthy Food Access for All Americans Act would provide a tax credit for food producers to help ensure communities have access to fresh fruit and vegetables, Senate Finance Committee member Mark R. Warner, D-Va., and Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., said in an August 3 release.

The <a href="/lr/resolve/source-document/1w7hg" title="Source document">Healthy Food Access for All Americans Act</a> would provide a tax credit for food producers to help ensure communities have access to fresh fruit and vegetables, Senate Finance Committee member Mark R. Warner, D-Va., and Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., said in an August 3 release.

The Healthy Food Access for All Americans Act would provide a tax credit for food producers to help ensure communities have access to fresh fruit and vegetables, Senate Finance Committee member Mark R. Warner, D-Va., and Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., said in an August 3 release.