Local governments can adopt our Model Licensing Ordinance for Healthy Food Retailers to help ensure greater access to healthy foods in communities that need it most.

This ordinance requires that that all food stores in a community devote a certain amount of space to selling produce and staple foods, and requires food stores to meet other operating conditions to promote public health. In short, it sets a “healthy baseline” across an entire community, designed to improve food quality and accessibility at all food retail outlets, including corner stores and convenience stores that sell foods and beverages.

In communities that are disproportionately burdened with obesity, diabetes, and other diet-related diseases, the model ordinance can improve the local food environment and ensure it provides the basic resources needed to support a healthy diet.