Improving Access to Healthy Food

Big Win in California!!

Californians have a reason to celebrate – Governor Brown signed AB 581 into law (week of oct. 10) – marking a great step towards improving health and economic conditions for the nearly 1.7 million California residents living in low-income communities with limited access to healthy food. For these residents, healthy food options are limited, consisting mainly of high-fat, high-sugar processed foods.

AB 581, the California Healthy Food Financing Initiative (CHFFI), introduced by Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez, finds that “access to healthy food items is a basic human right.” The legislation will help bring healthy food retail to underserved communities by allowing state agencies to more effectively target programs and resources to improve healthy food access. A CHFFI Council will be created to develop financing options, define program parameters, and partner with government, nonprofit, and philanthropic agencies to advance key goals.

Many of you have been involved over the past years in reaching this landmark moment. We are grateful for your commitment, time, and energy to improving healthy food access for underserved California communities. Without your continued support, AB 581 would not have been signed into law last week!

As you know, across the nation momentum is building to address inequitable food access. Sixteen states and a handful of cities have either launched or are in the process of creating similar initiatives. AB 581 highlights California’s leadership on this issue, and is a great complement to the recently launched California FreshWorks, a $200 million program led by The California Endowment and a team of public and private partners. AB 581 also helps position California to take advantage of resources from the national Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI), a federal effort that is providing funding for efforts to improve access to healthy food in underserved low-income communities.

AB 581 is an important step in bringing healthy food into long underserved communities throughout California, helping create healthy communities of opportunity for all. We look forward to working with many of you as AB 581 is implemented.