Policy Pick: California Healthy Food Financing Initiative

Assembly Speaker John Perez's (D-Los Angeles) AB 581 would set up the California Healthy Food Financing Initiative to put California in position to receive federal dollars from the Federal Healthy Food Financing Initiative contained in President Obama's budget.

The Initiative will allocate $400 million to bring healthy food options to "food deserts" throughout the country. A food desert is a large geographic area with little or no access to healthy food options, such as fresh produce or dairy products. According to Perez's office, a lack of access to healthy food choices can contribute to obesity, and obese children are more at risk for health problems as adults, such as heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. The Centers for Disease Control reports that childhood obesity has tripled in the last 30 years.

"For too many Californians, quality, wholesome food is not available because there simply isn't any place to purchase fresh produce," Perez said. "Studies clearly demonstrate what we instinctively know -a child's success in life is determined in part by having a healthy childhood, and one area where we need to make more progress is ensuring children have access to the healthy foods.

"My bill will help California eliminate these food deserts so that every child in our state has access to the world class produce California is renowned for producing," Perez added.

The bill would also require the California Department of Food and Agriculture, along with the state departments of Public Health and Social Services, to prepare recommendations to the Legislature on actions necessary to increase access to healthy foods in underserved communities. These recommendations would include how to best use federal dollars to accomplish this goal.

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