This Act creates the Delaware Grocery Initiative.
The Delaware Grocery Initiative is a healthy foods initiative that seeks to provide financial assistance to eligible food resources as designated by the bill. The Act defines food deserts and eligibility requirements for the initiative. The Act authorizes the Division of Small Business to implement the grant and financial support system.
This substitute bill does the following:
1. Adds the following terms in the definition section of the Act: Council, food resource, Healthy Foods Retail Initiative, Program, and specialty grocer.
2. Modifies the definition of food desert.
3. Removes terms of grocery store, rural tract, and urban tract in lieu of the new definitions of food resource and food desert.
4. Designates the Division of Small Business, instead of the Office of State Planning, as theagency authorized to implement the Delaware Grocery Initiative and authorizes the Division of Small Business to adopt rules.
5. Replaces the grocery and food desert study with a food access strategy.
6. Subject to appropriation, creates a food access strategy to address food insecurity and requires submission of a report to the General Assembly and the Governor by June 1, 2025.