BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2246
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Date of Hearing: May 16, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 2246 (John A. Perez) - As Amended: April 23, 2012
Policy Committee: HealthVote:17 - 0
Agriculture 9 - 0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill requires the California Healthy Food Financing
Initiative (CHFI) Council establish and maintain an Internet Web
site by March 31, 2013, that includes the following information:
1)Actions taken by the council.
2)Funding sources available to support access to healthy foods.
3)Interagency activities that focus on benefiting underserved
communities and increasing access to healthy food.
4)Resources and links to information on food deserts and
increasing access to healthy food.
FISCAL EFFECT
The State Treasurer has recently launched an Internet Web site
for the Council. Adding these particular components to that site
would be minor and absorbable within existing resources.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . According to the author, residents of communities
referred to as food deserts do not have access to a selection
of healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables or dairy products.
As a result, the author contends residents of these
geographic areas generally have higher incidences of certain
types of diseases, including diabetes, cancer, obesity, and
heart disease.
AB 2246
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The author states that the CHFFI is mirrored after successful
healthy food financing programs in the states of Pennsylvania
and New York and addresses the issue by encouraging an
increase in the number of grocery stores, farm stands,
farmers' markets, direct farm to institutions and consumer
markets, and community gardens in underserved urban and rural
communities. The author asserts that requiring the CHFFI
Council to establish a Website will provide an on-line
informational resource regarding funding opportunities and
state agency actions for those interested in reducing
California's food deserts and increasing access to healthy
foods in underserved communities.
2)Pervasiveness of Food Deserts Questioned . Recent studies have
challenged the popular and long held belief that people living
in poor urban areas have less access to grocery stores and
healthy foods than people in wealthier areas. A March 2012
Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) study found that
poor neighborhoods had nearly twice as many fast food
restaurants and convenience stores as wealthier ones, and more
than three times as many corner stores per square mile. But
they also had nearly twice as many supermarkets and
large-scale grocers per square mile. In addition, a Rand study
found that within several miles of any urban area a person can
find any type of food.
In addition to the PPIC study, a February 2012 study published
by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine and financed by
the National Institutes of Health found among middle school
and high school students that there is no consistent
relationship between what the students ate and the type of
food nearby. Living close to supermarkets or grocers did not
make students thin and living close to fast food outlets did
not make them fat.
3)Related Legislation . AB 581 created the CHFFI, the CHFFI Fund
and the CHFFI Council, for the purpose of expanding access to
healthy foods in underserved communities. Requires the
Secretary of CDFA, by July 1, 2012, to prepare recommended
actions to be taken to promote food access within California.
Authorizes CDFA to create an Advisory Group, as specified.
This authority remains in effect until January 1, 2017.
AB 2246
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Analysis Prepared by : Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916)
319-2081