U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand introduced legislation Wednesday that would provide mandatory annual funding for a initiative that aims to help end food deserts.
According to the junior senator from New York, her bill would give $50 million annually to the Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI), a program through the U.S. Department of Agriculture that offers loans and grants to incentivize grocery stores to establish locations in food deserts.
Food deserts are areas in the country where a significant portion of residents don’t have easy access to a grocery store and affordable, nutritious food and are instead forced to rely on corner and convenience stores, which often sell little-to-no fresh produce, meat or dairy.
According to the USDA, there are various elements of food deserts in parts of New York’s North Country and Southern Tier.
“An easily accessible grocery store is a basic necessity, but hundreds of communities across our state don’t have consistent access to one,” Gillibrand said in a statement. “That means residents have to travel miles outside their neighborhood just to buy staple groceries, a trip that can take hours on foot or by public transit for those without access to a car. It’s unacceptable.”
HFFI has provided financial or technical assistance to four fresh food retailers in Troy, Rochester, Buffalo and Brooklyn, as well as dozens more nationwide.
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