# 119-hr-2473: Healthy Food Access for All Americans Act

119-hr-2473, Healthy Food Access for All Americans Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Sykes, Emilia Strong [D-OH-13] (D-OH); status in_committee; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-08-05).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2473
- As of: 2026-08-05
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-2473
- Congress: 119
- Title: Healthy Food Access for All Americans Act
- Status: in_committee
- Introduced: 2025-03-27
- Sponsor: Rep. Sykes, Emilia Strong [D-OH-13] (D-OH)
- Cosponsors: 3
- Policy area: Taxation
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-08-05

## Summary

This bill creates a two-track plan to **expand access to healthy food in designated food deserts** by combining a new tax credit with a grant program. It focuses on encouraging grocery stores, mobile markets, farmers markets, food banks, and related facilities to locate in or serve underserved areas. - Families and households: Residents in targeted food deserts could gain more local options for fresh produce and groceries through new or expanded stores and mobile markets. - Local food retailers and investors: Establishes a "special access food provider" tax credit (Sec. 45BB) and adds it to the General Business Credit to lower the cost of investing in underserved areas. Treasury will work with USDA to set allocations, certifications, reporting, and enforcement, and the bill authorizes appropriations and an effective date for the tax rules. - Food banks, temporary merchants, and planners: Creates a grant program to help food banks and temporary access merchants start or expand services. USDA must update the Food Access Research Atlas at least annually to reflect retailers placed in service and to guide targeting.

## Cosponsors (3)

- Rep. McClellan, Jennifer L. [D-VA-4] (D-VA), 2025-03-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large] (D-DC), 2025-04-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Kennedy, Timothy M. [D-NY-26] (D-NY), 2026-08-03T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Anti-abuse rules and updated maps: benefit, medium. USDA and Treasury would write rules to run the program. They would set anti‑abuse checks and reporting. They would ensure a fair share of allocations go to rural areas. The Food Access Research Atlas would be updated at least once each year to reflect new stores.
- Grants for food banks and markets: benefit, medium. The government would give grants to certified providers. Permanent food banks could get the smaller of their allocation or 15% of construction costs. Temporary access merchants could get the smaller of their allocation or 10% of yearly operating costs, for up to 10 years. Grants would be paid withi…
- Tax credit for food-access businesses: mixed, high. If enacted, certified food-access businesses would get a federal tax credit. For a new grocery store in a food desert, the credit would be the smaller of your allocation or 15% of the store’s tax basis. For a renovation area, it would be the smaller of the allocation or 10% of renovation costs. The…
- Certification rules for food-access providers: mixed, medium. To get credits or grants, each site would need certification. Grocery projects must be in a food desert when work starts and meet Healthy Food Financing rules. Permanent food banks and temporary access merchants must be nonprofit. Farmers markets could not be certified if they receive other USDA gr…
- Definitions for deserts and grocery stores: mixed, medium. The bill would set who and where counts. A food desert would be a tract where at least 500 people or 33% live more than 1 mile (metro) or 10 miles (non‑metro) from a grocery, and the area has 20%+ poverty or income at or below 80% of the median. A store would count as a grocery if 35% or more of sa…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-8870: BUILD America 250 Act
- 119-hr-7853: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026

## Sources
- [119-hr-2473 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/2473)

## Related
- [119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9877)
- [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151)
- [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-8870: BUILD America 250 Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8870)
- [119-hr-7853: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7853)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2473 (as of 2026-08-05).