The Grocery Affordability Act would create a new tax credit to encourage grocery stores to open or expand in food deserts, which are areas where residents lack convenient access to fresh food and have low incomes. Grocery store owners or operators could claim a tax credit equal to 30 percent of the costs to build a new store or renovate an existing one in a qualifying food desert, up to a maximum credit of $500,000 per year. The bill defines a food desert as a census tract where at least 500 people or one-third of residents live more than one mile away from a grocery store (in urban areas) or more than ten miles away (in rural areas), and where the area has either a poverty rate of at least 20 percent or median family income below 80 percent of the statewide or metropolitan area median. The tax credit would take effect for tax years beginning after December 31, 2026, and the Secretary of the Treasury, working with the Department of Agriculture, would determine which areas qualify as food deserts using existing federal databases.
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