WSB/2/3
Sponsored by Sofia Maltin of Beech High School
This legislation was filed in the Health category
Presented as part of the YIG Volunteer 2024 conference
| 1 | BE IT ENACTED BY THE TENNESSEE YMCA YOUTH IN GOVERNMENT: |
| 2 | |
| 3 | Section 1: Terms in this act will be defined as follows: |
| 4 | a) Food Desert- A certain percentage of a county’s population is not located within 10 miles of a |
| 5 | large food retailer that supplies fresh produce. |
| 6 | b) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)- Institution that provides food benefits to |
| 7 | low-income families to supplement their grocery budget to allow them to afford nutritious food. |
| 8 | c) The Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI)- A competitive grant program that aims to |
| 9 | increase fruit and vegetable purchasing among low-income shoppers participating in SNAP. |
| 10 | d) The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)- Work to increase food security and |
| 11 | reduce hunger by providing access to food to those who are low-income in their programs such as |
| 12 | FINI. |
| 13 | e) Tennessee Department of Agriculture- Aims to ensure agriculture and forestry are the leading |
| 14 | industries of Tennessee, and serves to promote agriculture and sale of it. |
| 15 | f) SNAP-Ed- A SNAP-ran program that teaches participants how to stretch their SNAP dollars, how |
| 16 | to shop and cook healthy foods, and how to lead physically active lifestyles. |
| 17 | g) Convenience Stores- A retail business that provides convenience of a variety of consumable |
| 18 | products and services to the general public. |
| 19 | h) Staple Foods- Basic foods that diets consist of that are usually cooked at home and eaten as a |
| 20 | meal. |
| 21 | i) Main Ingredient- Usually the first ingredient of a food product. |
| 22 | j) Distinct Product Type- Items count as different product types, even if composed of the same |
| 23 | ingredients. |
| 24 | k) Stocking Unit- The package a product is typically sold in. |
| 25 | l) Perishable Foods- Any food products that spoil within a three week period if stored at room |
| 26 | temperature. |
| 27 | m) Electronic Benefit Transaction (EBT)- Acts like a debit card for SNAP members, with the price of |
| 28 | purchase of staple foods being deducted from the SNAP holder’s household EBT account. |
| 29 | |
| 30 | Section 2: At least 25 convenience stores across Tennessee will be accepted into the program to |
| 31 | combat their local food deserts by providing fresh produce. |
| 32 | |
| 33 | Section 3: All possible and willing convenience stores must go through an application process |
| 34 | online. To apply the convenience store must also be in no more than a 1 mile radius of a food |
| 35 | desert. All possible convenience stores that have submitted an application must go through a |
| 36 | subsequent interview and inspection carried out by officials from the Tennessee Department of |
| 37 | Appeals and Hearings who will survey up to 250 convenience stores yearly to choose those most |
| 38 | well-equipped to maintain their stock of produce. |
| 39 | |
| 40 | Section 4: Upon acceptance into the program, the convenience stores will start stocking fresh |
| 41 | produce products such as fruits, vegetables, dairy, and meat. |
| 42 | |
| 43 | Section 5: Once accepted into the program, the convenience store must become a SNAP member. |
| 44 | With the acceptance into SNAP, said store must also accept any SNAP-issued food stamps. In |
| 45 | addition they also have to use EBT equipment and transaction services paid for by the Tennessee |
| 46 | Department of Appeals and Hearings, to allow SNAP members to pay for their food. |
| 47 | |
| 48 | Section 6: Accepted stores will be required to dedicate at least 3 coolers to the sale of low-calorie, |
| 49 | ready-made meals that can be heated up in a microwave. With the implementation of this, stores |
| 50 | will be provided a microwave and a kettle by the Tennessee Department of Appeals and Hearings, |
| 51 | to which retailers must have accessible to their customers. |
| 52 | |
| 53 | Section 7: All accepted stores must host a monthly class on healthy food and exercise practices, |
| 54 | which will be presented by local SNAP members through their SNAP-Ed program. |
| 55 | |
| 56 | Section 8: Retailers who join the program will gain yearly incentives such as store promotion |
| 57 | through the Tennessee Department of Appeals and Hearings, and yearly renovation funds. |
| 58 | |
| 59 | Section 9: All participants will be provided a 5% annual tax break in addition to the other yearly |
| 60 | incentives with induction into the program. |
| 61 | |
| 62 | Section 10: All stores in the program will be provided connection through the Tennessee |
| 63 | Department of Agriculture to local farms, where they can buy their fresh produce in bulk. In |
| 64 | addition, each store will be provided a tri-monthly loan to make up for the possible profit loss by |
| 65 | having to buy more expensive, fresh produce. |
| 66 | |
| 67 | Section 11: Any accepted stores that do not continue to comply with said guidelines will be taken |
| 68 | out of the program, losing all incentives given by the Tennessee Department of Appeals and |
| 69 | Hearings. |
| 70 | |
| 71 | Section 12: This program will run until the year 2035, or until there is at least 1 staple food seller |
| 72 | in a 5 square mile radius of every food desert in Tennessee. |
| 73 | |
| 74 | Section 13: This act will have a yearly cost of $3,846,000, which will be funded partially through |
| 75 | the Department of Appeals and Hearings, and partly through the Department of Economic and |
| 76 | Community Development. |
| 77 | |
| 78 | Section 14: All laws or parts of laws in conflict with this are hereby repealed. |
| 79 | |
| 80 | Section 15: This act shall take effect January 1, 2025, the public welfare requiring it. |
| 81 |