CA AB1674

Creates the Food Desert Elimination Grant Program administered by the Department of Food and Agriculture to provide grants to developers and grocery store operators for locating or maintaining stores in food deserts (census tracts with 20%+ poverty rate and limited grocery access)

Establishes the Food Desert Elimination Fund to receive legislative appropriations and allows collection of federal and private funds into a continuously appropriated California Equitable Food Access Account

Grants may cover feasibility studies, employee salaries/benefits, rent, facility acquisition, capital improvements, and equipment; recipients must return unused funds if stores close within 2 years of opening

Requires new housing development projects in food deserts or at-risk areas to demonstrate they do not reduce site capacity for large grocery stores (15,000+ sq ft), or provide mitigation through equivalent space dedication or fund contributions

Provisions sunset on January 1, 2031, with a required report to the Legislature by January 1, 2028 on grants awarded and recipient locations