State Senator Andy Berke Still Pushing Bill To Bring Food Stores to Under-served Neighborhoods

     State Senator Andy Berke says he doesn't know if his bill will pass this session, but he predicts it will be approved soon.
     Berke is talking about Senate Bill 2976, the Tennessee Food Desert Relief Act.
     Its designed to make Larger grocery stores more available to low income households.
     Senator Berke says there are some areas of Chattanooga...and in other parts of the state where residents tend to pay more and eat unhealthy foods because they are not within walking distance of a full-service food store.

St. Sen. Andy Berke\(D) Chattanooga

"We've got to make sure that its financially satisfactory enough to do it..nobody wants to go into business to lose money. By the same token there are opportunities there."

    That bill would include financial incentives for larger grocery stores to build in what are called "food desert" areas.