Healthy Food Financing Initiative

Summary: Healthy Food Financing Initiative - Amends the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to establish an initiative to improve access to healthy foods in underserved areas, create and preserve quality jobs, and revitalize low-income communities by providing loans and grants to eligible fresh food retailers to overcome the higher costs and initial entry barriers in underserved areas. Provides that funds shall be used to: (1) create revolving loan pools of capital and provide grants to finance eligible projects or partnerships, and (2) provide technical assistance and limited administrative expenses. Requires projects to accept SNAP (formerly known as food stamps) benefits.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Healthy Food Financing Initiative''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1)(A) the United States faces an obesity epidemic in which 
        30.5 percent of children ages 10 through 17 are overweight or 
        obese;
            (B) the obesity epidemic contributes to increasing rates of 
        chronic illness, including diabetes, heart disease, and cancer; 
        and
            (C) the obesity epidemic cost the United States 
        $147,000,000 in medical expenses in 2008, and this cost is 
        expected to rise in the future;
            (2) the Reinvestment Fund estimates that almost 25,000,000 
        people in the United States live in low-income communities with 
        limited access to supermarkets and grocery stores;
            (3) more than 130 studies show that--
                    (A) access to healthy food is particularly a 
                problem in hundreds of low-income, rural, and urban 
                communities, as well as communities of color in the 
                United States; and
                    (B) the opportunity to access healthy food is 
                linked to lower levels of obesity, diabetes, and other 
                food-related chronic illnesses, leading to better 
                health outcomes;
            (4)(A) children from low-income families are twice as 
        likely to be overweight as children from higher income 
        families; and
            (B) African-American and Hispanic children are more likely 
        than Caucasian children to be obese;
            (5) studies show that when healthy foods are available, 
        people will increase consumption of fruits and vegetables;
            (6) leading public health experts, including the Centers 
        for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Heart 
        Association, the Institute of Medicine, and the American Public 
        Health Association, agree that providing improved access to 
        supermarkets and grocery stores is needed to improve public 
        health and prevent obesity;
            (7) developing high-quality fresh food retail outlets 
        creates jobs, expands markets for agricultural producers in the 
        United States, and supports economic vitality in underserved 
        communities;
            (8)(A) supermarkets and grocery stores often face barriers 
        to opening stores in food deserts;
            (B) the supermarket industry operates on an historically 
        thin profit margin;
            (C) according to the 2011 National Grocers Association 
        Independent Grocers Survey, the average net profit margin 
        before taxes for independent grocers in 2010 was 1.08 percent;
            (D) urban operators face barriers, including--
                    (i) increased real estate costs or limited 
                availability of suitable commercial real estate in the 
                community;
                    (ii) increased employee training needs and costs;
                    (iii) elevated security expenses; and
                    (iv) often zoning restrictions;
            (E) supermarkets and grocery stores in rural food deserts 
        also face barriers, including increased food delivery costs due 
        to distance from distributers, dispersed customer base, and low 
        volume; and
            (F) access to affordable capital is a significant problem 
        for both rural and urban projects;
            (9) by providing seed capital and technical assistance, the 
        Federal Government, through time-limited investments, can--
                    (A) attract private sector investment to create and 
                retain much-needed jobs; and
                    (B) provide long-term, sustainable solutions to the 
                decades-old problem of limited access to healthy food 
                in underserved, low-income urban and rural communities; 
                and
            (10) legislation establishing a national fund modeled on 
        the successful Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative 
        will help address the obesity epidemic while also creating 
        much-needed jobs and economic revitalization, and solving the 
        healthy food access problem in hundreds of communities across 
        the United States.

SEC. 3. HEALTHY FOOD FINANCING INITIATIVE.

    (a) In General.--Subtitle D of title II of the Department of 
Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6951 et seq.) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 242. HEALTHY FOOD FINANCING INITIATIVE.

    ``(a) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to enhance the 
authorities of the Secretary to support efforts to provide access to 
healthy food by establishing an initiative to improve access to healthy 
foods in underserved areas, to create and preserve quality jobs, and to 
revitalize low-income communities by providing loans and grants to 
eligible fresh, healthy food retailers to overcome the higher costs and 
initial barriers to entry in underserved areas.
    ``(b) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Community development financial institution.--The 
        term `community development financial institution' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 103 of the Community 
        Development Banking and Financial Institutions Act of 1994 (12 
        U.S.C. 4702).
            ``(2) Initiative.--The term `Initiative' means the Healthy 
        Food Financing Initiative established under subsection (c)(1).
            ``(3) National fund manager.--The term `national fund 
        manager' means a community development financial institution 
        that is--
                    ``(A) in existence on the date of enactment of this 
                section; and
                    ``(B) certified by the Community Development 
                Financial Institution Fund of the Department of 
                Treasury to manage the Initiative for purposes of--
                            ``(i) raising private capital;
                            ``(ii) providing financial and technical 
                        assistance to partnerships; and
                            ``(iii) funding eligible projects to 
                        attract fresh, healthy food retailers to 
                        underserved areas, in accordance with this 
                        section.
            ``(4) Partnership.--The term `partnership' means a 
        regional, State, or local public-private partnership that--
                    ``(A) is organized to improve access to fresh, 
                healthy foods;
                    ``(B) provides financial and technical assistance 
                to eligible projects; and
                    ``(C) meets such other criteria as the Secretary 
                may establish.
            ``(5) Perishable food.--The term `perishable food' means a 
        staple food that is fresh, refrigerated, or frozen.
            ``(6) Quality job.--The term `quality job' means a job that 
        provides wages and other benefits comparable to, or better 
        than, similar positions in existing businesses of similar size 
        in similar local economies.
            ``(7) Staple food.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The term `staple food' means 
                food that is a basic dietary item.
                    ``(B) Inclusions.--The term `staple food' 
                includes--
                            ``(i) bread;
                            ``(ii) flour;
                            ``(iii) fruits;
                            ``(iv) vegetables; and
                            ``(v) meat.
    ``(c) Initiative.--
            ``(1) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish an 
        initiative to achieve the purpose described in subsection (a) 
        in accordance with this subsection.
            ``(2) Implementation.--
                    ``(A) In general.--
                            ``(i) In general.--In carrying out the 
                        Initiative, the Secretary shall provide funding 
                        to entities with eligible projects, as 
                        described in subparagraph (B), subject to the 
                        priorities described in subparagraph (C).
                            ``(ii) Use of funds.--Funds provided to an 
                        entity pursuant to clause (i) shall be used--
                                    ``(I) to create revolving loan 
                                pools of capital or other products to 
                                provide loans to finance eligible 
                                projects or partnerships;
                                    ``(II) to provide grants for 
                                eligible projects or partnerships;
                                    ``(III) to provide technical 
                                assistance to funded projects and 
                                entities seeking Initiative funding; 
                                and
                                    ``(IV) to cover administrative 
                                expenses of the national fund manager 
                                in an amount not to exceed 10 percent 
                                of the Federal funds provided.
                    ``(B) Eligible projects.--Subject to the approval 
                of the Secretary, the national fund manager shall 
                establish eligibility criteria for projects under the 
                Initiative, which shall include the existence or 
                planned execution of agreements--
                            ``(i) to expand or preserve the 
                        availability of staple foods in underserved 
                        areas with moderate- and low-income populations 
                        by maintaining or increasing the number of 
                        retail outlets that offer an assortment of 
                        perishable food and staple food items, as 
                        determined by the Secretary, in those areas; 
                        and
                            ``(ii) to accept benefits under the 
                        supplemental nutrition assistance program 
                        established under the Food and Nutrition Act of 
                        2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.).
                    ``(C) Priorities.--In carrying out the Initiative, 
                priority shall be given to projects that--
                            ``(i) are located in severely distressed 
                        low-income communities, as defined by the 
                        Community Development Financial Institutions 
                        Fund of the Department of Treasury; and
                            ``(ii) include 1 or more of the following 
                        characteristics:
                                    ``(I) The project will create or 
                                retain quality jobs for low-income 
                                residents in the community.
                                    ``(II) The project supports 
                                regional food systems and locally grown 
                                foods, to the maximum extent 
                                practicable.
                                    ``(III) In areas served by public 
                                transit, the project is accessible by 
                                public transit.
                                    ``(IV) The project involves women- 
                                or minority-owned businesses.
                                    ``(V) The project receives funding 
                                from other sources, including other 
                                Federal agencies.
                                    ``(VI) The project otherwise 
                                advances the purpose of this section, 
                                as determined by the Secretary.
    ``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section $125,000,000, 
to remain available until expended.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 296(b) of the Department of 
Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 7014(b)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (6), by striking ``or'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (7), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; or''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(8) the authority of the Secretary to establish and carry 
        out the Health Food Financing Initiative under section 242.''.