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Moran Introduces Bill To Fight Food Deserts

KMUW | By Aileen LeBlanc
Published August 4, 2017 at 4:17 PM CDT
A map showing areas of Kansas with low income and low access to a grocery store.
ers.usda.gov
A map showing areas of Kansas with low income and low access to a grocery store.

Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran helped introduce a new bill aimed at giving relief to food deserts across the country.

Moran says that 1 in 6 Kansans is affected by food insecurity, even though they live in the nation's breadbasket.

Areas in green represent Census tracts in Wichita where many homes are low-income and have no access to a grocery store within 1 urban mile, or 10 rural miles, of a grocery store.
Credit ers.usda.gov
Areas in green represent Census tracts in Wichita where many homes are low-income and have no access to a grocery store within 1 urban mile, or 10 rural miles, of a grocery store.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines a food desert as an area where people do not live within one mile of a grocery store in an urban area, or within 10 miles in a rural area. In Wichita, many tracts in the south and central areas of the city are food deserts.

See the USDA's interactive map of food deserts

The bill, called the Healthy Food Access for All Americans Act, offers incentives for food providers to develop, renovate or initiate stores, food banks or other outlets for healthy food in the deserts. Businesses can receive grants or tax credits to help them get started.

--Aileen LeBlanc is news director at KMUW. Follow her on Twitter @Aileen_LeBlanc.

To contact KMUW News or to send in a news tip, reach us at news@kmuw.org.

Copyright 2017 KMUW | NPR for Wichita
Aileen LeBlanc
Aileen LeBlanc is a journalist, producer and director whose work in television, film and public radio has earned more than 60 regional and national awards.
See stories by Aileen LeBlanc