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Assembly committee advances bill to fund grocery access and limit food deserts
Summary
The Assembly Agriculture Committee voted to send AB 1674 to the Housing and Community Development Committee after witnesses and members debated a provision that could condition housing approvals on preserving grocery-store space; the author pledged to work with opponents on amendments.
Assemblymember Aarons introduced AB 1674 as a food‑desert elimination grant program aimed at preserving and expanding grocery‑store capacity in underserved communities, particularly where housing redevelopment has displaced small, ethnic or neighborhood‑serving stores.
"AB 1674 would create the food desert elimination grant program to support grocery stores in underserved areas," Aarons told the committee, saying the bill would require developers to maintain or mitigate any loss of grocery capacity in new housing projects so access to healthy food does not depend on a ZIP code.
Local residents testified in support. Diana Gonzales, chair of the San Miguel Neighborhood Association in North Sunnyvale, said her neighborhood risks losing Fair…
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