Georgia grocers often don’t get fresh, local food. Ossoff wants new bill to change that
When Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff travels the Peach State, he says the consistent issue brought to his attention by business, l faith, educational and health leaders is an absence of grocery stores in their area.
At the same time, Georgia farmers export much of their fresh produce that would otherwise feed Georgia families. The lack of local and fresh produce has cascading effects detrimental to human health and creates a system that pollutes more from longer miles food has to travel.
Ossoff and Georgia Rep. Sanford Bishop believe they have a bill that will incentivize grocery stores to come to areas that need it most to sell fresh, locally grown produce: the Fresh Food Act of 2024
“Food is Medicine,” Bishop told local leaders at Valley Healthcare System on Tuesday. Bishop shared his enthusiasm for this bill and partnering with Ossoff.
“I’ll do my part on the House side to make sure this becomes law because this does so much for the quality of life here, and nationwide it will go so far,” Bishop said.
Nearly 15% of all Americans live in areas with limited access to affordable and nutritious food, and in Georgia that number is 33%, the USDA Economic Research Service said in a 2019 report.
The bill, introduced to the legislature in September, would incentivize grocers to come to areas where less than 500 people reside more than 1 mile from a grocery store in a metro area or 10 miles from a grocery store in a non metro area and a poverty rate of at least 20%.
Columbus is not immune to this.
The CEO of Valley Healthcare System, Columbus Mayor Skip Henderson, and other local leaders added their support for the bill at Valley Healthcare.
“This is something that is right on point for the needs of our community,” Henderson said at the press conference. “Columbus has a 19% poverty rate, higher than the national and state average. (Poverty) causes a lot of other challenges. This is the first resource that I’m aware of to incentivize businesses to go into areas of our community that currently don’t have access to healthy food.”
Dr. Asante Hilts, the CEO of Valley Healthcare System, said zip code 31903 in Columbus has the highest poverty rate in Georgia.
“This act will allow us to access things patients would not normally get,” Hilts said on Tuesday.
State House Rep. Teddy Reese said this bill will go a long way.
It’s stressful and difficult for families to properly feed their children if they are working two jobs or if there isn’t access to a car, an hour bus ride to a grocery store might not be something you can easily do, Ossoff said. “Fresh, healthy food ought not be a luxury, it’s a necessity.”
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Food insecurity is associated with higher probabilities of chronic diseases, including hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and kidney disease, according to a USDA study.
Ossoff wants local growers to sell to local grocery stores to ensure healthy food options are available everywhere. “Local” is considered less than 100 miles away from said store or anywhere in the state of Georgia, according to Ossoff’s Deputy Press Secretary Kiana Perkins.
The Fresh Food Act of 2024 would provide tax credits to grocery stores ranging from 26-30% between the first and third year of business, with an additional 5% of tax credit if the food is sourced locally, according to the proposed bill. The store also must not be bigger than 80,000 square feet, which is a typical size of a Lowes or a big box store.
Today, Georgia grocers may see blueberries from Peru, oranges from South Africa and lettuce from California. This has an environmental cost known as “food miles” that contribute to higher planet warming emissions.
In June 2022, a group of scientists from Australia and China found the carbon footprint of food traveled accounts for 3 gigatonnes of CO2, that is 3 billion metric tons. Freight associated with vegetable and fruit consumption is 36% of the food miles, twice the amount released during their production. The scientists recommend shifting to locally produced items, especially in affluent countries.
“If we (Georgians) are buying lettuce from Georgia instated of California there is a definite savings to the planet – we didn’t send a truck from California to Atlanta with all the diesel stops it has to make along the way,” said Kashi Sehgal, CEO of Retazza, a nonprofit focused on hyperlocal food supply chains.
Sehgal thinks Ossoff’s bill is a great step for people to eat healthier and more holistically.
“I would love to see this adopted,” she said.
Bishop said this bill is important because the cost of freight, transportation and processing the fresh fruits and vegetables is enormous.
“If a farmer can sell their produce close to home that reduces their overhead and makes produce more available closer to him, it’s a win-win for everyone,” he said. “It also adds competition to the process driving down the cost of food, the consumer or family will pay less.”
“We have strong support from Georgia’s agriculture community for this legislation,” Ossoff told the Ledger-Enquirer. “Georgia growers are eager for families to have access to their fresh produce.”
The bill has been assigned a subcommittee and the goal is to get it through Congress with bipartisan support.
Bishop said he’s confident this will pass because it will benefit all Americans, calling it a “universal concern” that is higher in Republican represented districts.
“The percentage of poverty levels is higher in Republican districts than it is in the Democratic, particularly in rural communities,” he said. “My colleagues have constituents who need this so desperately. The sooner the better.”
