IV 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 975 

Recognizing the potential for a national fresh food financing initiative to 

provide an effective and economically sustainable solution to the problem 

of limited access to healthy foods in underserved urban, suburban, and 

rural low-income communities, while also improving health and stimulating local economic development. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 15, 2009 

Ms. SCHWARTZ (for herself, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. BURGESS, Mr. MEEK of Florida, Mr. PASTOR of Arizona, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. GERLACH, Mr. 

HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. MOORE of Kansas, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. 

VELA ́ZQUEZ, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. 

SERRANO, Mr. MEEKS of New York, Mr. PLATTS, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. 

RANGEL, Ms. MATSUI, Ms. CHU, Mrs. DAHLKEMPER, Mr. HONDA, Mr. 

DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. SUTTON, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Ms. WATSON, 

Mr. INSLEE, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. CLARKE, Mr. CARDOZA, Mr. HINCHEY, and Ms. WOOLSEY) submitted the following resolution; which was 

referred to the Committee on Agriculture 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the potential for a national fresh food financing 

initiative to provide an effective and economically sustainable solution to the problem of limited access to 

healthy foods in underserved urban, suburban, and rural 

low-income communities, while also improving health and 

stimulating local economic development. 


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•HRES 975 IH 

Whereas the Nation faces an obesity epidemic in which 30.5 

percent of children ages 10 through 17 are overweight or 

obese; 

Whereas the obesity epidemic contributes to increasing rates 

of chronic illness, including diabetes, heart disease, and 

cancer; 

Whereas the obesity epidemic cost the country $147 billion in 

medical expenses in 2008, and this cost is expected to 

rise in the future; 

Whereas the Department of Agriculture conservatively estimates that more than 23 million Americans live in lowincome communities and do not have access to a supermarket or large grocery store within one mile of their 

home; 

Whereas more than 70 studies show that access to healthy 

food is particularly a problem in many low-income urban 

and rural communities and minority communities, and 

studies have shown that better access to healthy food in 

low-income and minority communities is linked to lower 

levels of obesity and better health outcomes; 

Whereas children from low-income families are twice as likely 

to be overweight as those from higher income families, 

and African-American and Hispanic children are more 

likely than Caucasian children to be obese; 

Whereas studies show that when healthy foods are available, 

people will increase their consumption of fruits and vegetables; 

Whereas 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 


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access to supermarkets and large grocery stores is needed 

to improve public health and prevent obesity; 

Whereas developing high quality fresh food retail outlets creates jobs, expands markets for farmers in the United 

States, and supports economic vitality in underserved 

communities; 

Whereas an innovative State-initiated public-private partnership, the Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative, 

is supporting 70 new or improved supermarkets, grocery 

stores, and farmers’ markets in underserved urban and 

rural communities, leveraging a $30 million State grant 

to generate $165 million in private investment, creating 

or retaining more than 4,800 part- and full-time jobs, 

and increasing access to healthy food for more than 

400,000 residents; 

Whereas a single 57,000-square-foot new store financed by 

the Pennsylvania initiative and located in a low-income 

neighborhood in Philadelphia created 370 jobs for area 

residents and generated $540,910 of local tax revenue in 

one year; 

Whereas the Pennsylvania initiative has been nationally recognized as an innovative model by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Conference of 

State Legislatures, Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and the National Governors Association; 

Whereas the State of New York has recently announced a 

comprehensive effort to increase the number of fresh food 

markets in underserved communities, including a $10 

million State investment to create the Healthy Foods, 

Healthy Communities Initiative, which will provide grants 

and loans to eligible food markets across the State; 


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Whereas States across the country, including Illinois, Louisiana, and New Jersey, have recognized the problem of 

food access in many low-income communities and are 

working to create financing programs to encourage supermarkets, grocery stores, and other fresh food markets to 

locate in these underserved communities; and 

Whereas a national fresh food financing initiative would provide communities across the United States with critical 

one-time loan and grant financing to help fresh food retailers overcome initial barriers to entry into underserved, 

low-income communities, and would support renovation 

and expansion of existing stores so they can provide the 

healthy foods that communities want and need: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives recog2 nizes the potential for a national fresh food financing ini3 tiative— 

4 (1) to provide an effective and economically sus5 tainable solution to the problem of limited access to 

6 healthy foods in underserved urban, suburban, and 

7 rural low-income communities; and 

8 (2) to help reduce health disparities and im9 prove the health of families and children, create 

10 jobs, and stimulate local economic development in 

11 low-income communities. 

Æ 


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