Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
Act 870 of the Regular Session
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State of Arkansas 1
95th General Assembly A Bill 2
Regular Session, 2025 HOUSE BILL 1965 3
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By: Representative McCullough 5
By: Senator K. Hammer 6
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For An Act To Be Entitled 8
AN ACT TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS HEALTHY FOOD RETAIL ACT 9
OF 2025; TO PROVIDE FINANCIAL INCENTIVES FOR HEALTHY 10
FOOD RETAILERS IN UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES; AND FOR 11
OTHER PURPOSES. 12
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Subtitle 15
TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS HEALTHY FOOD 16
RETAIL ACT OF 2025; AND TO PROVIDE 17
FINANCIAL INCENTIVES FOR HEALTHY FOOD 18
RETAILERS IN UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES. 19
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 21
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SECTION 1. Arkansas Code Title 15, Chapter 4, is amended to add an 23
additional subchapter to read as follows: 24
Subchapter 40 — Arkansas Healthy Food Retail Act of 2025 25
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15-4-4001. Title. 27
This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Arkansas 28
Healthy Food Retail Act of 2025". 29
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15-4-4002. Legislative findings and intent. 31
(a) The General Assembly finds that: 32
(1) When fresh produce and other healthy foods are not readily 33
available or affordable, people, particularly low -income families, children, 34
and the elderly, face serious barriers to eating a healthy diet; 35
(2) Research in Arkansas and the nation shows that residents of 36 HB1965
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low-income, minority, and rural communities are most often affected by high 1
rates of obesity and poor access to supermarkets and other healthy food 2
retailers; 3
(3) Obesity, which frequently results from poor diet and 4
physical inactivity, is America's fast -growing cause of disease and death; 5
(4) Arkansas has one of the highest rates of obesity nationwide, 6
putting growing numbers of Arkansas adults and children at risk for 7
developing heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, certain cancers, and 8
other health problems; 9
(5) Increasing access to retail food outlets that sell fresh 10
fruits and vegetables and other healthy food is an essential strategy for 11
fighting the obesity epidemic and improving health; 12
(6) Studies have shown that people with better access to 13
supermarkets and fresh produce tend to have healthier diets and lower levels 14
of obesity; and 15
(7) Developing quality retail food outlets also creates jobs, 16
expands markets for Arkansas farmers, and supports economic vitality in 17
underserved communities. 18
(b) It is the intent of the General Assembly that the Healthy Food 19
Retailer Program established under this subchapter shall: 20
(1) Provide a reliable source of financing for healthy food 21
retailers operating in underserved communities in the state in both rural and 22
urban areas; 23
(2) Increase access to affordable healthy food to improve diets 24
and health; 25
(3) Promote the sale and consumption of fresh produce, 26
particularly fresh produce that is grown in Arkansas; and 27
(4) Support the expansion of economic opportunities in low -28
income and rural communities. 29
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15-4-4003. Definitions. 31
As used in this subchapter: 32
(1) "Funding" means grants, loans, or a combination of grants 33
and loans; 34
(2) "Healthy food retailers" means for -profit or nonprofit 35
retailers that sell high -quality, fresh produce at competitive prices to 36 HB1965
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various sellers, including without limitation supermarkets, grocery stores, 1
and farmers' markets; and 2
(3) "Underserved community" means a geographic area with limited 3
access to healthy food retailers in a low -income, low-access, or high-poverty 4
area or an area otherwise determined to have serious healthy, nutritional 5
food limitations. 6
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15-4-4004. Healthy Food Retailer Program — Establishment and 8
administration. 9
(a) To the extent funds are available, the Arkansas Economic 10
Development Commission, in cooperation with public and private sector 11
partners, shall establish the Healthy Food Retailer Program that provides 12
funding directly and indirectly to healthy food retailers that increase 13
access to fresh fruits and vegetables and other affordable healthy food in 14
underserved communities. 15
(b)(1)(A) The commission may contract with one (1) or more qualified 16
nonprofit organizations, community development financial institutions, or 17
consultants experienced in food retail to design and administer the Healthy 18
Food Retailer Program through a public -private partnership to leverage funds, 19
market the program statewide, evaluate applicants, make funding award 20
decisions, underwrite loans, and monitor compliance and impact. 21
(B) A nonprofit organization or a community development 22
financial institution that partners with the commission may allocate a 23
portion of the funds received under the Healthy Food Retailer Program to 24
cover administrative costs associated with administering the program. 25
(2) The commission shall coordinate with complimentary nutrition 26
assistance and education programs in administering the Healthy Food Retailer 27
Program. 28
(c) The Healthy Food Retailer Program shall provide funding on a 29
competitive basis as appropriate for each project awarded funding. 30
(d) The Healthy Food Retailer Program may provide funding through 31
grants, subgrants, and contracts for projects that align with the goals of 32
the Health Food Retailer Program, including without limitation: 33
(1) The construction of new healthy food retailers, including 34
without limitation supermarkets and grocery stores; 35
(2) Predevelopment activities, store renovations, expansion, and 36 HB1965
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infrastructure upgrades that improve the availability and quality of fresh 1
produce; 2
(3) Farmers' markets, public markets, food cooperatives, mobile 3
markets and delivery projects, and distribution projects that enable healthy 4
food retailers in underserved communities to obtain fresh produce regularly; 5
(4) Equity investments, credit enhancement initiatives, 6
subordinate debt, and interest rate buy downs that benefit healthy food 7
retailers; and 8
(5) Other projects that create or improve healthy food retailers 9
that meet the intent of this subchapter, as determined by the commission. 10
(e) Funding made available through the Healthy Food Retailer Program 11
may be used for the following purposes: 12
(1) Site acquisition and preparation; 13
(2) Construction costs; 14
(3) Equipment and furnishings; 15
(4) Workforce training; 16
(5) Security; 17
(6) Certain predevelopment costs as determined by the 18
commission, including without limitation market studies and appraisals; 19
(7) Financial assistance, including without limitation working 20
capital for first-time inventory, start -up costs, and interest rate buy down; 21
and 22
(8) Consulting and technical assistance, including without 23
limitation stakeholder training and the provision of informational resources 24
to stakeholders. 25
(f) A restaurant is not eligible for funding under this subchapter. 26
(g) An applicant for funding under this subchapter may include without 27
limitation a sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company, 28
corporation, cooperative, community development entity, institution of higher 29
education, or governmental entity. 30
(h) To be considered for funding under this section, an applicant 31
shall meet the following criteria: 32
(1) The project for which the applicant seeks funding benefits 33
an underserved community; 34
(2) The applicant demonstrates a meaningful commitment to 35
selling fresh produce according to a measurable standard established by the 36 HB1965
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commission; and 1
(3) The applicant accepts the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance 2
Program and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, 3
and Children (WIC) benefits. 4
(i) The commission or its designee shall evaluate each applicant based 5
on the following criteria to determine the award of funding: 6
(1) The applicant's demonstrated capacity to successfully 7
implement the project, including without limitation the applicant's relevant 8
experience and the likelihood that the project will be economically self -9
sustaining; 10
(2) The ability of the applicant to repay debt; 11
(3) The degree to which the project requires an investment of 12
public funding to move forward, create an impact, or be competitive; 13
(4) The level of need in the underserved community to be served 14
by the project, which may include the consideration of factors that will 15
improve or preserve retail access for low -income residents, such as the 16
proximity to public transit lines; 17
(5) The degree to which the project will promote sales of fresh 18
produce, particularly Arkansas -grown fruits and vegetables; 19
(6) The degree to which the project will positively impact the 20
underserved community, including without limitation creating or retaining 21
local residents' jobs; and 22
(7) Any other criteria that the commission determines are 23
consistent with the intent of this subchapter. 24
(j) The commission shall: 25
(1) Establish Healthy Food Retailer Program benchmarks and 26
reporting processes to ensure that the Healthy Food Retailer Program benefits 27
both rural and urban communities in Arkansas; 28
(2) Establish monitoring and accountability mechanisms for 29
projects that receive funding under this section, such as tracking sales data 30
for fresh produce; 31
(3) Prepare and submit an annual report to the Legislative 32
Council, or if the General Assembly is in session, the Joint Budget 33
Committee, concerning any projects funded and the outcome data related to 34
each project; and 35
(4) Establish rules for implementing this subchapter. 36 HB1965
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(k) To the extent practicable, funds described in this subchapter may 1
be used to leverage other funding, including without limitation new markets 2
tax credits, federal and foundation grant programs, incentives available to 3
designated renewal communities or empowerment zones, operator equity, and 4
funding from private -sector financial institutions under the Community 5
Reinvestment Act of 1977, 12 U.S.C. § 2901 et seq., as it existed on January 6
1, 2025. 7
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APPROVED: 4/17/25 10
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