CAIRO, IL — Jan. 1 means more than just a new year; it also means new laws in Illinois.
Senate Bill 850 aims to relieve food insecurity for residents living in a food desert.
Illinois Senate Bill 850 will help the state eliviate “food deserts” throughout the state. Photo taken on Dec. 28, 2023 in Cairo, IL.
The bill’s definition of a food desert is complicated—some exist in rural communities, others in urban—but for rural Illinois, it is any community of 500 or more people living more than 10 miles from the nearest grocery store.
The Illinois Department of Commerce is responsible for administering the bill, and it begins in 2024 with a survey of the state’s communities. They will use criteria outlined in the bill to determine what communities qualify as food deserts.
Illinois Senate Bill 850 will help the state alleviate “food deserts” throughout the state. Photo taken on Dec. 28, 2023 in Cairo, IL.
Once the report is completed, the Department will determine how to support local food sellers through grants and other programs.
The law allows grants for various challenges, from updating equipment to be more energy efficient to helping train and pay for staff and managers.
Robert Edwards, the manager of Rise Community Market in Cairo, said a bill like this may have been able to help them when their walk-in cooler went down.
Over 6,500 food deserts exist throughout the United States according to a report issued by Beyer. Illinois Senate Bill 850 aims at decreasing food deserts. Photo taken in Cairo, IL on Dec. 28, 2023.
“It’s going to help in a lot of different areas of the state; the purpose is to help eliminate food deserts,” Edwards said. “Also [it will] help prevent new food deserts from [forming] by helping to those communities keep or maintain their local stores.”
Sometimes, people think those who live in food deserts can’t access food, but it means they may have to travel to get it; this is why Edwards said having local access is so important.
Illinois Senate Bill 850 will help the state alleviate “food deserts” throughout the state. Photo taken on Dec. 28, 2023 in Cairo, IL.
“It’s enormously important when you’ve got areas that turn into food deserts,” Edwards said. “You’ve got a lot of people that can’t always access fresh food; maybe they have to pay for transportation to get access to fresh fruit.”
Over 6,500 food deserts exist throughout the United States according to a report issued by Beyer. Illinois Senate Bill 850 aims at decreasing food deserts. Photo taken in Cairo, IL on Dec. 28, 2023.
Edwards said it harms the health outcomes in those communities when all they have access to is what you might get at a convenience store, which he said is unhealthy.
The report identifying food deserts will be submitted by December 2024.