Governor Rick Scott signed off Thursday on a measure designed to eradicate so-called “food deserts.”
![Many poor and low-income neighborhoods don't have easy access to affordable, healthy foods. Gov. Rick Scott approved a $500,000 appropriation for the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to coordinate existing grants to renovate mom-and-pop stores.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/5017170/2147483647/strip/true/crop/280x210+0+0/resize/880x660!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmediad.publicbroadcasting.net%2Fp%2Fwfsu%2Ffiles%2Fstyles%2Fcard_280%2Fpublic%2F201604%2Ffood-desert-1.jpg)
The Florida Channel
The bill by Rep. David Santiago, R-Deltona, provides incentives for mom-and-pop stores in high-poverty areas to sell healthy food.
“The bill directs DACS, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to create a program designed to target these areas economically, and create incentives that will help promote access to these foods.”
Sponsors asked for a one-time appropriation of $5 million dollars, but legislative leaders whittled it down to $500,000.
Department officials will be required to coordinate federal and non-profit programs. The American Heart Association supported the bill.
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