SB 18: Food Desert Elimination Grant Program.

The bill aims to expand access to healthy foods in food deserts and areas at risk of becoming food deserts in the state. It would create a grant program for grocery store operators to locate or expand stores in these areas, providing funding for specified purposes. The program would be administered by the Department of Food and Agriculture, with the goal of increasing the nutritional profile of foods provided in schools and increasing agricultural products available to underserved communities. The program would rely on a combination of state, federal, and private funds, with moneys continuously appropriated to the department for program purposes. The bill would make the program contingent on an appropriation by the legislature and would repeal its provisions by December 31, 2030.