I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8531 
To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to make grants to States to support 
the establishment and operation of grocery stores in underserved commu-
nities, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 6, 2020 
Mr. CARSON of Indiana introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Agriculture 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to make grants to 
States to support the establishment and operation of 
grocery stores in underserved communities, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Food Deserts Act of 
2020’’. 
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SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM TO ESTABLISH GROCERY STORES 
IN UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT
OF GRANT PROGRAM.—The 
Secretary shall establish a program to provide capitaliza-
tion grants to States for the purpose of establishing re-
volving funds to support the establishment and operation 
of grocery stores in underserved communities. 
(b) ADMINISTRATION.—A State receiving funds 
under this Act shall administer the revolving fund of the 
State through an instrumentality of the State with such 
powers and limitations as may be required to operate such 
fund in accordance with the requirements of this Act. 
(c) PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES ELIGIBLE FOR AS-
SISTANCE.—Amounts in a revolving fund shall be used for 
the purpose of making loans— 
(1) to open a grocery store in an underserved 
community, except that such loan may not be used 
for the purpose of new construction; 
(2) to support the operations of an existing gro-
cery store in an underserved community; 
(3) to facilitate the fair market value purchase 
of an existing grocery store in an underserved com-
munity; or 
(4) to support the operations of a program par-
ticipant that is located in a community that would 
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be an underserved community if the program partici-
pant was not located in such community. 
(d) GROCERY STORES ELIGIBLE FOR ASSISTANCE.— 
(1) REQUIRED CRITERIA.—A State receiving a 
capitalization grant under this Act may only make 
a loan from the revolving fund of the State to an en-
tity that the State determines— 
(A) is a grocery store or will be a grocery 
store after opening; 
(B) emphasizes or will emphasize unproc-
essed, healthful foods; 
(C) provides or will provide a variety of 
raw fruits and vegetables; 
(D) provides or will provide staple foods; 
(E) has a plan to keep such foods in stock 
to the extent possible; 
(F) charges or will charge prices at or 
below market averages; 
(G) either— 
(i) is demonstrably qualified to oper-
ate a grocery store; or 
(ii) at the time of such application, 
has existing partnerships with organiza-
tions that provide technical assistance on 
business operations of food services; and 
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(H) will match no less than 20 percent, 
from non-Federal funds, of the amount of such 
loan. 
(2) 
PRIORITY
CRITERIA.—A 
State 
shall 
prioritize an application for a loan from the revolv-
ing fund of the State from an entity that the State 
determines— 
(A) hires or plans to hire workers who re-
side within the underserved community that 
would be served by the entity; 
(B) provides or plans to provide classes or 
other educational information about a healthful 
diet; 
(C) sources or plans to source food from 
local urban farms and gardens; 
(D) does not or will not sell alcohol or to-
bacco products; or 
(E) demonstrates existing supply chain re-
lationships in the grocery industry. 
(e) APPLICATION.—An entity that desires a loan 
from a revolving fund of a State shall submit an applica-
tion to the State at such time, in such manner, and con-
taining such information as the State may require. 
(f) LOAN CONDITIONS.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—A loan distributed from a 
revolving fund by a State may be used by a program 
participant only for the purposes specified in sub-
section (c). 
(2) INTEREST RATES.—A loan distributed by a 
State from a revolving fund— 
(A) shall be made at or below market in-
terest rates; and 
(B) may be an interest free loan, at terms 
not to exceed the lesser of 30 years or the pro-
jected useful life (as determined by the State) 
of the project to be financed with the proceeds 
of the loan. 
(3) STRUCTURE OF LOAN.—A loan may be dis-
tributed from a revolving fund by a State to a pro-
gram participant in— 
(A) a lump sum; or 
(B) in multiple distributions over a period 
of years, if the State determines multiple dis-
tributions are necessary to carry out the 
project. 
(4) LOAN AMOUNT.—A State may not provide 
a loan to a program participant from the revolving 
fund of the State in a fiscal year that exceeds 10 
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(i) BANKRUPTCY.—In the case of the bankruptcy of 
a program participant, amounts owed on a loan from a 
revolving fund shall be afforded precedence over other 
debt. 
(j) CHANGE IN UNDERSERVED STATUS.—In the case 
of a community that qualified as underserved during a pe-
riod in which loans were made by a State pursuant to this 
section and no longer qualifies as underserved, recipients 
of loans under this section in such community— 
(1) shall not be eligible for further loans under 
this section; and 
(2) may not have their loan agreements altered. 
(k) GROCERY STORE EARNINGS.—Earnings of a non-
profit organization or municipally owned program partici-
pant that are attributable to a loan received from a revolv-
ing fund of a State shall be used for reinvestment into 
the program participant or to support the continuity of 
operations of the program participant. 
SEC. 3. CAPITALIZATION GRANTS TO FUND STATE REVOLV-
ING FUNDS. 
(a) ELIGIBILITY
OF STATE
FOR CAPITALIZATION 
GRANT.—To be eligible for a capitalization grant, a State 
shall— 
(1) establish a revolving fund that complies 
with the requirements of this Act; and 
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(2) establish a process for applications and cri-
teria for making loans from the revolving fund, sub-
ject to the requirements in section 2(d). 
(b) UPON RECEIPT OF CAPITALIZATION GRANT.— 
Upon the receipt of a capitalization grant, a State shall 
deposit such capitalization grant into the revolving fund 
of the State. 
(c) DISTRIBUTION.—For a fiscal year, the Secretary 
shall apportion amounts made available for capitalization 
grants under this section among the States eligible under 
subsection (a) in the ratio that— 
(1) the population of underserved communities 
in each State eligible under subsection (a), bears to 
(2) the population of underserved communities 
in all States eligible under subsection (a). 
SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
this Act $150,000,000 for fiscal year 2020. 
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) CAPITALIZATION GRANT.—The term ‘‘cap-
italization grant’’ means a grant made to a State 
under the program. 
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(2) HEALTHFUL FOOD.—The term ‘‘healthful 
food’’ means food that reflects the most recent Die-
tary Guidelines for Americans. 
(3) GROCERY
STORE.—The term ‘‘grocery 
store’’ means a retail store that derives income pri-
marily from the sale of food for home preparation 
and consumption. 
(4) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 
the program described in section 2(a). 
(5) PROGRAM PARTICIPANT.—The term ‘‘pro-
gram participant’’ means an entity that has received 
a loan under the program. 
(6) REVOLVING
FUND.—The term ‘‘revolving 
fund’’ means a fund established by a State for use 
as a depository for a capitalization grant. 
(7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Agriculture. 
(8) STAPLE
FOOD.—The term ‘‘staple food’’ 
has the meaning given the term in section 243(b) of 
the of the Department of Agriculture Reorganization 
Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6953(b)). 
(9) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means States of 
the Union, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, 
the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the 
Northern Mariana Islands. 
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(10) UNDERSERVED
COMMUNITY.—The term 
‘‘underserved community’’ has the meaning given 
the term in section 310B(g)(9)(A) of the Consoli-
dated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 
1932(g)(9)(A)). 
Æ 
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