DES MOINES, Iowa — Food insecurity continues to grow in Iowa.
Meanwhile, there's a piece of legislation that made it out of Funnel Week that aims to allow more grocery stores in areas that need them most.
According to a 2022 study by the University of Northern Iowa, 111 Iowa communities can be classified as rural food deserts.
Rural areas, however, aren’t the only places considered low-income and low-access. According to the USDA’s 2019 Food Access Research Atlas, parts of Des Moines, Urbandale and more can fall under that category.
Rep. Brian Lohse, R-Bondurant, the author of House File 2176, isn't unfamiliar with the grocery business.
"My wife and I started a grocery store in 2014," he said.
Lohse hopes his legislation will lift up small mom-and-pop type grocery stores, shrinking the number of food deserts across the state.
"... try to rectify some of the food deserts as well as provide some support to those areas that have a grocery store but might be especially at risk of losing them because of…it's a tough business," he said.
Lohse added that the bill can also help grocery stores that need to expand to better serve the community.
The legislation, if signed into law, would create the Grocer Reinvestment Fund. The money would go to stores to help pay for things like equipment, professional services, capital improvements to expand capacity and more.
"We'd hate to see a grocery store go away because they can't replace a cooler," Lohse said.
Underserved communities will be prioritized in the distribution of funds. More specifically, priority will go towards grocery stores that commit to serving an underserved community, accept certain benefits, give jobs to locals and other criteria.
"When we talk about eating healthy or healthier living, those are the types of things we need to make sure we're covering and providing for folks that don't have that opportunity now," Lohse said.
Another part of the bill would give grocery store owners education resources through the expansion of the local food and farm program.
This bill is now eligible for debate and a vote on the House floor.