This bill allows tax credits and grants for activities that provide access to healthy food in food deserts, which are communities that have limited or no access to grocery stores and meet income requirements.
For entities that are certified by the Department of the Treasury as special access food providers using specified criteria, the bill allows tax credits for operating a new grocery store or renovating an existing grocery store in a food desert. The bill also authorizes grants for a portion of (1) the construction costs of building a permanent food bank in a food desert, and (2) the annual operating costs of temporary access merchants (mobile markets, farmers markets, and food banks).
Treasury, in coordination with the Department of Agriculture (USDA), must annually allocate the tax credits and grants to special access food providers. Grants authorized by this bill are not considered gross income for tax purposes.
The bill also requires USDA to update the Food Access Research Atlas at least annually to account for food retailers that are placed in service during that year.
