CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) --Governor J.B. Pritzker has announced a new grant program to combat food deserts.
He was in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood to announce the Illinois Grocery Initiative's "New Stores in Food Deserts Program." The program, along with the initiative's previously announced Equipment Upgrades Program, are a $20 million effort to address food deserts and prevent grocery store closures.
"The truth is too many people live in food deserts," Pritzker emphasized. "All over our state we see small grocery stores fighting to keep their doors open."
Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton said it's about full stomachs and healthy lifestyles.
"We can not hand our neighbors a bag of chips and declare victory," she added. "True access is when every person can obtain fresh, nutrient-dense produce and culturally relevant ingredients without traveling great distances."
46th Ward Alderwoman Angela Clay was among those who spoke in Uptown about the need for access to healthy, affordable food.
"As a mom, I understand the importance of having healthy food on the dinner table and at breakfast time, or it's snack time and there are a lot of families where their reality is they are eating out of a liquor store, or they're eating out of a gas station, and we understand that the long term effects that that has on a family or as a child can be detrimental."
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