Rep. Shackleford (800-382-9842) has introduced HB 1060 which would create the “healthy food financing program.” It creates a fund, the purpose of which is to “provide financing for projects that increase the availability of fresh and nutritious food in underserved communities,including financing for retailers to open, renovate, or expand grocery stores.”
The Indiana Housing and Development Authority is charged with overseeing the fund and with setting program criteria that can then be delegated to a non-profit for administration. Projects eligible for financing include construction of grocery stores, grocery store upgrades, and farmers’ markets. (Interestingly the provisions about grocery store upgrades and farmers’ markets have some conditional language about making fresh produce available that isn’t necessarily specified for new grocery store construction.)
The applicant for funding has to be able to demonstrate a likelihood that the project will be financially sustainable. The applicant also has to accept SNAP (food stamps), SSNP (WIC), have 50% space for perishable foods, and promote the hiring of local residents. The bill calls for the appropriation of $10 million over two fiscal years for the program.
This seems to be part of an ongoing legislative effort to address “food deserts.” In 2014, Indianapolis ranked worst in the nation as a food deserts.
Not addressing this post specifically, but you are doing a huge public service here, consistent with your logo. Hard to find this in public media.
So far, the bills you’ve mentioned have been pretty much lacking in craziness, but it ain’t over.
Thanks! I don’t blog near as many bills as I used to. Time is more limited and, to some extent, the General Assembly’s switch to PDF electronic versions of the bills has made posts take a little longer.
But, one of my goals when I started this thing was to show that there was a lot about legislation that never got on too many people’s radars. I mean, it’s fine that the papers aren’t covering a lot of these bills. They’re boring and complicated a lot of the time. But, a focus on only the controversial/interesting stuff leads to the impression that the General Assembly is an unrelentingly contentious shit show. And, there is more of that than any of us would prefer, but the reality is quite a bit more nuanced.
You could almost be a niche blog, only featuring bills that address the areas where Indiana ranks in the lower ten. Of course, that might be a full time job, especially if they actually addressed those areas.