HB996: HB996 Agriculture, Department of; food deserts; require annual reporting

Georgia currently has no requirement that the state track or report on food deserts, areas where people have poor access to fresh, healthy food. This bill would add a new section to Georgia's agriculture law (O.C.G.A. § 2-2-14) directing the Department of Agriculture to work with the Division of Family and Children Services to produce an annual report. The report would identify where food deserts exist in Georgia, describe health issues linked to them, and recommend ways to reduce their number and size. The first report would be due October 31, 2026, and every year after that by the same date. The bill defines a food desert using a poverty threshold and distance from a qualifying grocery store or farmers' market, and it allows the department to satisfy the reporting requirements using existing federal data. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it.

• Adds a new Code section (O.C.G.A. § 2-2-14) requiring the Department of Agriculture to submit an annual report on food deserts to the General Assembly.
• Defines 'food desert' as an area with at least 20 percent poverty where at least a third of residents live more than a mile from a retail food store or farmers' market.
• Defines 'retail food store' as a store with at least $2 million in annual sales carrying a full range of grocery departments, similar to a traditional supermarket.
• Requires the report to identify food desert locations, describe related health issues, and recommend ways to reduce them, starting October 31, 2026.
• Allows the department to rely on federal government data to satisfy any part of the reporting requirement.
• Directs the Department of Agriculture to coordinate with the Division of Family and Children Services within the Department of Human Services on the report.

The Department of Agriculture and the Division of Family and Children Services, which must jointly prepare the report; the General Assembly, which receives it; and Georgians living in low-income areas far from grocery stores, whose access to healthy food would be studied and reported on.

Communities with limited access to fresh food would gain a state-level record showing where those gaps exist and what health effects are linked to them, giving lawmakers annual data to consider when deciding how to address food access in future sessions.

• Section 1 adds Code Section 2-2-14, creating the reporting requirement and defining 'food desert,' 'farmers' market,' and 'retail food store.'
• Subsection (b) sets the first report deadline as October 31, 2026, and requires annual reports by that date each year after.
• Subsection (b) requires the report to cover food desert locations, associated health issues, and recommendations for reducing them.
• Subsection (c) allows federal data to substitute for state-generated information in meeting any part of the reporting requirement.
• Section 2 makes the Act effective immediately upon the Governor's signature or upon becoming law without signature.
• Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2026-01-27House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-01-16House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-01-15House Hopper (House)

• Bryce Berry (D, HD-056)Primary sponsor
• Robert Dawson (D, HD-065)
• Imani Barnes (D, HD-086)
• Kim Schofield (D, HD-063)
• Angie O'Steen (R, HD-169)

• food deserts
• agriculture policy
• food access
• state government reporting