sa国际传媒官网网页入口

The city of sa国际传媒官网网页入口 is making it easier for small, locally owned neighborhood markets to open for business to help relieve the city鈥檚 food deserts, Mayor Tim Keller announced Wednesday.

Under the new law, the city鈥檚 Environmental Health Department is waiving the permitting fee for one year for businesses that promise to provide healthy, affordable foods in underserved areas, said Mark DiMenna, the department鈥檚 deputy director.

鈥淥ur aim is to support food accessibility while ensuring the food is safe with these changes,鈥� DiMenna said.

Keller also announced proposed changes to the city鈥檚 zoning and development laws that will allow small neighborhood markets to open closer to neighborhoods and within walking distance of homes.

鈥淓very family deserves a convenient place to buy fresh food without having to drive miles,鈥� Keller said in a statement. 鈥淭his plan will open doors for our local food economy and expand grocery options for families, right in their own neighborhood.鈥�

Nearly 80% of households in Bernalillo County live in a food desert, which is an area with limited access to healthy and affordable food, according to a city .

Parts of sa国际传媒官网网页入口鈥檚 South Valley and International District are considered food deserts by the ; the former Walmart on San Mateo, which served as the main source of food for many International District residents, shuttered its doors in March 2023 and remains empty more than two-and-a-half years later.

Access to healthy food is 鈥渁bsolutely critical鈥� for the residents of sa国际传媒官网网页入口, said District 6 City Councilor Nichole Rogers.

鈥淎llowing folks to help by offering foods in our neighborhoods so they don鈥檛 have to go miles to get fresh food is going to amount to higher life expectancy,鈥� Rogers said. 鈥淔resh food is medicine.鈥�

More than 8,000 families in the International District do not have a car, according to Rogers, who represents the neighborhood. Without a grocery store in the area, residents must use public transit to do their shopping, which can be burdensome, especially for the elderly, Rogers said.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e having to go further on the bus more times per week, because they can only carry a certain amount of things on the bus in their cart,鈥� Rogers said. 鈥淭he folks I鈥檓 most concerned about are our transit-dependent folks and our seniors.鈥�

Rogers said she鈥檚 excited about the mayor鈥檚 executive order, which she says she and her constituents helped to develop through the district鈥檚 Food Systems Project focused on food insecurity.

鈥淗e鈥檚 basically modeling what he鈥檚 doing off of what we started in District 6, which I鈥檓 grateful (for). Taking it citywide is needed,鈥� she said.

Rogers said the executive order is an 鈥渆conomic development opportunity鈥� for those in her district who have been working with food.

Rogers said that while the expediting business permitting process is 鈥渁 step in the right direction,鈥� the city鈥檚 food permit requirements still present one of the biggest barriers to food access, since businesses must have a commercial kitchen to sell food or produce.

The International District doesn鈥檛 have a commercial kitchen available for nonprofits or markets to rent, as other neighborhoods in sa国际传媒官网网页入口 do.

鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely something that the mayor can do to help just ease the barriers for folks,鈥� Rogers said.

The mayor鈥檚 will waive permitting fees for one year, but the terms of the new permanent rule will go through a public comment period in the coming weeks, said city spokesperson Jeremy Dyer.