Green Minneapolis City Council member Cam Gordon has taken the lead on two initiatives to help expand access to fresh produce and other nutritious foods.

Both measures will help alleviate so-called “food deserts,” typically lower-income areas of the city where fresh produce and healthy foods are hard to find.

The first initiative helps farmers seeking to open Local Produce Markets. These markets of five vendors or fewer have been established in areas where residents have little access to fresh produce. One has been located near a public housing high-rise that serves people who are elderly or have disabilities.

After reviewing the permitting process and fees, Gordon oversaw changes that have streamlined the permit application from a large packet to one sheet of paper and lowered the cost from $400 to $154.

The second initiative Gordon championed requires businesses seeking grocery store licenses to carry a reasonable amount of fresh produce and other healthy foods.

Right now, he says, convenience stores with little or no fresh foods can be licensed as grocery stores. “They can have cheese, a carton of milk, and white bread and call themselves a grocery store.”

He asked city regulatory staff to sit down with the Minneapolis Department of Health and Family Support and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy to revise licensing standards and set minimums for fresh produce and other nutritious foods.

He says he doesn’t want the new requirements to be burdensome to small grocers, but that many kinds of fresh produce keep well and would be relatively easy to stock.

“I’m very hopeful that with these two steps, we can help get more good, fresh, and locally produced food to residents of our city and help fill some gaps,” Gordon says.