HB 6854, An Act Establishing the Office of the Food Access Advocate and Tax Incentives for Grocery Stores in Food Deserts

Food insecurity and food deserts are one nefarious way in which our state’s checkered history of racial inequity rears its head. Food deserts, defined by the 2008 Farm Bill, are “an area in the United States with limited access to affordable and nutritious food, particularly such an area composed of predominantly lower-income neighborhoods and communities.” HB 6854 would create the Office of Food Access Advocate, a centralized body focused on fighting food insecurity, similar to a body that already exists in New Haven at the city-level. The bill would also create jobs for
community members.