Healthy Food Access for All Americans Act
- Bill Number
- H.R. 2473
- Origin Chamber
- House
- Congress
- 119th Congress, Session 1
- Policy Area
- Taxation
- Status
- Introduced
- Latest Action
- 2025-04-18: Referred to the Subcommittee on Nutrition and Foreign Agriculture.
- Last Updated
- 2025-12-05T21:47:39Z
AI-Generated Summary
Purpose of the Legislation
The Healthy Food Access for All Americans Act (H.R. 2473) aims to improve access to healthy, affordable food in underserved areas known as "food deserts." These are low-income neighborhoods with limited proximity to grocery stores offering fresh produce, meat, dairy, and related items. The bill encourages investment in new or renovated grocery stores, food banks, and mobile food distribution by providing tax credits and grants to qualified providers.
Key Provisions
- Tax Credit for Grocery Stores and Renovations:
- Offers a business tax credit (added as Section 45BB to the Internal Revenue Code) equal to the lesser of an allocated amount or:
- 15% of the cost (basis) for new qualified grocery stores built in food deserts, including related depreciable property (e.g., equipment) if it's the first use by the owner.
- 10% of renovation costs for existing grocery stores in food deserts, where renovations involve depreciable improvements like building upgrades.
- A "grocery store" is defined as a retail outlet where at least 35% of annual sales come from healthy groceries (fresh/frozen produce, meat, seafood, dairy, and deli items).
- Grant Program for Food Banks and Mobile Providers:
- Provides grants (also under Section 45BB), coordinated by the Treasury Secretary and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), to certified nonprofit or similar entities:
- 15% of construction costs for new permanent food banks in food deserts.
- 10% of annual operating costs for "temporary access merchants" (e.g., mobile markets, farmers markets, or mobile food banks) serving food deserts, available yearly for up to 10 years.
- Grants are paid within 60 days of certification or project completion and are not counted as taxable income.
- Farmers markets cannot receive these grants if they get other USDA funding (except specific nutrition incentives).
- Certification Process:
- Applicants (e.g., businesses or nonprofits) apply to the Treasury Secretary, who consults USDA and local community development groups.
- Requirements include: Location in a food desert (census tracts with ≥500 residents or 33% of population >1-10 miles from a grocery store, ≥20% poverty rate, and median income ≤80% of area/state levels); compliance with USDA's Healthy Food Financing Initiative criteria; and no private profit benefit for nonprofits.
- Temporary providers must operate sufficient hours (e.g., 50 hours/week for non-farmers markets) in food deserts.
- Allocations and Oversight:
- Annual allocations of credits and grants by Treasury and USDA, ensuring proportional support for rural (non-metropolitan) areas.
- Recapture rules: If projects fail certification standards (e.g., close early or stop serving the area), the Treasury Secretary can recover benefits via tax increases—over 5 years for stores/food banks, or annually for mobile providers.
- Property basis (tax value) is reduced by the credit or grant amount to avoid double benefits.
- Regulations to prevent abuse, require reporting, and use USDA's Food Access Research Atlas for identifying food deserts.
- Updates to USDA Tools:
- Amends the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act to require annual updates to the Food Access Research Atlas, incorporating new food retailers to better map food deserts.
- Funding and Timeline:
- Authorizes necessary appropriations for implementation.
- Applies to tax years starting after enactment.
Significant Changes to Existing Law
- Internal Revenue Code Amendments: Adds a new Section 45BB for the tax credit and grant program, integrating the credit into the general business credit (Section 38). This creates a novel incentive combining tax relief with direct grants, unlike prior credits focused solely on business investments.
- USDA Reorganization Act Update: Mandates yearly refreshes to the Food Access Research Atlas (previously less frequent), improving data accuracy for food access mapping under Section 243.
- No direct changes to existing food programs but builds on the Healthy Food Financing Initiative by incorporating its eligibility standards.
Potential Impacts
- On Government Agencies: Increases workload for the Treasury Department (IRS) in certifying providers, allocating funds, and enforcing recapture; USDA gains coordination duties and must update mapping tools annually, potentially straining budgets without specified funding caps.
- On Citizens: Enhances food security for low-income residents in food deserts (estimated 23.5 million Americans) by promoting healthier eating options, reducing reliance on processed foods, and potentially lowering health costs from diet-related issues like obesity and diabetes.
- On International Relations: Minimal direct impact, as the bill focuses on domestic U.S. food access; indirect benefits could arise from stronger rural economies if mobile markets support local agriculture.
- Broader Economic Effects: Stimulates private investment in underserved areas, creating jobs in construction, retail, and food distribution, while tax expenditures and grants represent federal spending (exact costs unspecified but tied to appropriations).
Main Stakeholders Affected
- Businesses and Developers: Grocery store owners/investors qualify for tax credits on new builds or renovations, incentivizing entry into low-profit food desert markets.
- Nonprofits and Community Groups: Food banks and temporary access merchants (e.g., mobile markets, farmers markets) receive grants, enabling sustainable operations without private profit motives.
- Low-Income Communities: Residents in food deserts benefit from improved access to nutritious food, particularly in urban/rural areas with high poverty.
- Local Governments: Serve as alternative certifiers if no community development entities are nearby, gaining influence over local food projects.
- Federal Agencies: Treasury (administration/enforcement) and USDA (coordination/mapping) bear implementation responsibilities.
Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications
- Legal: Introduces recapture mechanisms (tax penalties for non-compliance), which could lead to disputes over "failure to satisfy requirements" (e.g., what constitutes adequate service). Grants' non-taxable status simplifies administration but requires clear regulations to avoid IRS challenges. Builds on existing USDA programs without overriding them, minimizing conflicts.
- Constitutional: No apparent issues; promotes equal protection by targeting underserved areas, aligning with Congress's spending power under Article I. Avoids First Amendment concerns as it funds food distribution, not speech.
- Political: Addresses food insecurity as a bipartisan equity issue (introduced by Democrats but refers to agriculture committee), potentially appealing across parties in rural/urban divides. Fiscal implications include uncapped appropriations, inviting debates on federal spending priorities amid budget constraints; could set precedent for hybrid tax-grant incentives in social policy.
This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.
Sponsor
Rep. Sykes, Emilia Strong [D-OH-13]
Cosponsors (2)
Rep. McClellan, Jennifer L. [D-VA-4], Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large]
Recent Actions
- 2025-04-18: Referred to the Subcommittee on Nutrition and Foreign Agriculture.
- 2025-03-27: Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
- 2025-03-27: Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
- 2025-03-27: Introduced in House
- 2025-03-27: Introduced in House
Bill Versions
- Healthy Food Access for All Americans Act — issued 2025-03-27 — PDF (16 pages)