Healthy Food Access for All Americans Act

Summary

Creates a coordinated federal program that pays tax credits and grants to businesses and nonprofit food providers that open or renovate grocery stores, fund construction for permanent food banks, or support temporary food-access vendors in underserved areas. It also requires USDA to update its Food Access Research Atlas at least once a year to reflect newly opened food retailers. The measure sets certification rules, payment amounts (tax credit percentages and grant rates), recapture rules if recipients stop meeting requirements, rules for treatment of grants and tax basis, and requires Treasury and Agriculture to administer and regulate the program together. Tax provisions apply to taxable years beginning after enactment.

• Creates a new tax credit for businesses that place new grocery stores or renovate stores in underserved areas (15% for new, 10% for renovations).
• Establishes grants for permanent food banks (15% of construction costs) and temporary access merchants (10% of annual operational costs).
• Requires certification and coordination between Treasury and USDA; uses Healthy Food Financing Initiative eligibility and a food-desert test.
• Grants are excluded from gross income but credit/grant amounts reduce the tax basis of property and can be recaptured if requirements lapse within 5 years.
• Treasury must pay grants promptly (within 60 days in many cases) and add the credit to the general business credit rules.
• Authorizes appropriations as necessary to fund the grant program and requires regulations to administer it.
• USDA must update the Food Access Research Atlas at least annually to reflect newly placed-in-service food retailers.
• Temporary access merchants can receive annual grants for up to 10 years; permanent food bank construction grants are eligible under the program.