PRINTER'S NO. 3987
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
901
Session of
2020
INTRODUCED BY KIRKLAND, ZABEL, GALLOWAY, A. DAVIS, HILL-EVANS,
HANBIDGE, KORTZ, KINSEY, FREEMAN, PASHINSKI, YOUNGBLOOD,
MURT, ROZZI, ULLMAN, READSHAW, SANCHEZ, MILLARD, DELLOSO,
SHUSTERMAN, HOWARD, BURNS, McCLINTON, NEILSON, SCHWEYER,
TOOHIL AND WARREN, JUNE 23, 2020
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND RURAL AFFAIRS,
JUNE 23, 2020
A RESOLUTION
Designating the month of June 2020 as "Food Desert Awareness
Month" in Pennsylvania.
WHEREAS, The United States Department of Agriculture defines
a food desert as "a low-income area where there is low access to
healthy food based on population and distance from a
supermarket"; and
WHEREAS, Low-income areas are generally those in which the
poverty level exceeds 20% of the area's median income but does
not exceed 80% of the Statewide median income or the median
income of the greater metropolitan area; and
WHEREAS, Low-access areas are those in which individuals in
urban and rural areas are more than 1 mile and less than 10
miles away from the nearest grocery store, respectively; and
WHEREAS, If the aggregate number of people in a census tract
with low access is at least 500 or the percentage of people in a
census tract with low access is at least 33%, the census tract
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is considered a food desert; and
WHEREAS, Approximately 23.5 million Americans live in food
deserts; and
WHEREAS, Roughly 75% of all food deserts are found in urban
areas and the remaining 25% are found in rural areas; and
WHEREAS, Approximately 2 million Pennsylvanians, including
500,000 children, live in food deserts; and
WHEREAS, Many lower-income communities are also food deserts,
which leads to high rates of diet-related deaths; and
WHEREAS, Access to healthy foods and supermarkets is critical
to healthy eating, overall well-being and reducing rates of
childhood obesity; and
WHEREAS, Access to healthy food is unevenly distributed
throughout this Commonwealth, with several areas having few
full-service grocery stores and many in which none exist; and
WHEREAS, Pennsylvania has made significant progress in
providing access to healthy foods and ending food deserts in
this Commonwealth through the Fresh Food Financing Initiative
and nonprofit organizations such as The Food Trust, but more
work is necessary; and
WHEREAS, All Pennsylvanians should have access to healthy and
affordable food options within their neighborhoods; therefore be
it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives designate the
month of June 2020 as "Food Desert Awareness Month" in
Pennsylvania.
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