TOPEKA — U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran said Kansas’ status as breadbasket to the nation cannot spare it from food deserts jeopardizing well-being of families without access to affordable, healthy and convenient grocery options.
Moran, a Kansas Republican who co-chairs the Senate’s hunger caucus, said isolation and disruption driven by the COVID-19 pandemic amplified fragility of the grocery pipeline and the reality of food insecurity in Kansas and elsewhere. A reasonable response, he said, would be adoption of federal legislation authorizing one-time tax credits or grants to incentivize construction and renovation of buildings to better serve customers in food deserts.
“Over the past year, we have seen unprecedented need at food banks as Kansans line up seeking access to nutritional food,” Moran said. “This bipartisan legislation, which would incentivize food providers to establish and renovate grocery stores, food banks and farmers markets in communities that traditionally lack affordable, healthy and convenient food options, is now more important than ever.”