06.26.13
U.S. Representative Allyson Schwartz (PA-13) has introduced legislation that would support a national Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI), a market-based approach to investing in underserved communities where healthy food options are scarce or unaffordable.
The bill would authorize $125 million to continue the HFFI to help make more grocery stores, farmers markets, food cooperatives and other options accessible by providing one time start-up grants and affordable loan financing. This targeted investment is designed to spur economic development, create private sector jobs in Pennsylvania and across the country, and help combat obesity, which costs the U.S. healthcare system $190 billion annually, according to Rep. Schwartz.
Modeled after the successful Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative, the HFFI is a public-private partnership that expands investment in underserved communities, known as “food deserts,” by providing flexible grant and loan financing. Since 2011, the HFFI has supported a wide range of innovative projects in rural, urban and suburban communities. On average, a 50,000-square-foot supermarket creates 250 full-time jobs, associated construction work, and expanded opportunities for American farmers. A 10,000-square-foot supermarket creates 25 full- and part-time jobs.
Congresswoman Schwartz’s bill is a companion measure to legislation (S 821) U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced.
Congresswoman Schwartz’s legislation has support from more than 90 organizations nationwide, including the American Heart Association, the Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association, the American Diabetes Association, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the NAACP and the American Public Health Association.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, more than 24 million Americans live in “food deserts,” defined as either urban areas without access to a supermarket within one mile, or rural areas lacking similar access within 10 miles. This lack of access to healthy foods has exacerbated the growing epidemic of obesity, diabetes and other diet-related health problems in these communities.
The bill would authorize $125 million to continue the HFFI to help make more grocery stores, farmers markets, food cooperatives and other options accessible by providing one time start-up grants and affordable loan financing. This targeted investment is designed to spur economic development, create private sector jobs in Pennsylvania and across the country, and help combat obesity, which costs the U.S. healthcare system $190 billion annually, according to Rep. Schwartz.
Modeled after the successful Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative, the HFFI is a public-private partnership that expands investment in underserved communities, known as “food deserts,” by providing flexible grant and loan financing. Since 2011, the HFFI has supported a wide range of innovative projects in rural, urban and suburban communities. On average, a 50,000-square-foot supermarket creates 250 full-time jobs, associated construction work, and expanded opportunities for American farmers. A 10,000-square-foot supermarket creates 25 full- and part-time jobs.
Congresswoman Schwartz’s bill is a companion measure to legislation (S 821) U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced.
Congresswoman Schwartz’s legislation has support from more than 90 organizations nationwide, including the American Heart Association, the Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association, the American Diabetes Association, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the NAACP and the American Public Health Association.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, more than 24 million Americans live in “food deserts,” defined as either urban areas without access to a supermarket within one mile, or rural areas lacking similar access within 10 miles. This lack of access to healthy foods has exacerbated the growing epidemic of obesity, diabetes and other diet-related health problems in these communities.