October 14, 2016

Nancy Pelosi
450 Golden Gate Ave.
Ste. 145378
San Francisco, CA 94102

RE: Support of HR 4833 Food Desserts Act of 2016

Dear Mrs. Pelosi,

My name is Giulia Tondo and I am a fifth year Clinical Nutrition student at the University of
California, Davis. I wanted to reach out to you to express my support for bill HR 4833, the Food
Desserts Act of 2016, sponsored by Andre Carson.

Most of the leading causes of death in this country are characterized by diseases that could be
prevented by a healthy diet. There is more and more data that shows a correlation between low
socioeconomic status and a poor diet, partially due to inaccessibility to healthy choices. There is
also a higher rate of obesity, cardio vascular disease, diabetes, and related diseases among the
same population that are heavily correlated to diet and, though preventable, are reaching higher
numbers everyday.

The USDA estimated that about 23.5 million people live in an area defined as a food desert and
that nearly half of that number represents people of low-income. HR 4833 would fund the
growth of grocery stores with fresh, unprocessed, healthful, and affordable foods within these
areas to provide the community with better options. Not only would this better the health of our
population, it would also save the nation a substantial amount of money from the cost of medical
bills. Currently, the affect of obesity on health outcomes has been estimated to cost between
$147 billion to $210 billion. Funneling some of that money into preventable causes would
benefit individuals, communities, and the nation as a whole.

Not only could a proper diet save the country money and death tolls, but it could also improve
the livelihood of the people overall. A healthy diet has been linked to lower rates of depression,
schizophrenia, Alzheimers, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among all ages
and to higher performance in school among students. Every individual deserves the right to live a
healthy, happy life, but not every individual is given the chance. Fresh, accessible food could be
the greatest gift to offer. And what else do we live for, but to be happy?

Sincerely,

Giulia Tondo
2126 Ortega Street,
San Francisco, CA 94122
 Giulia Tondo
October 14, 2016
NUT 116AL

Legislative Letter

My legislative letter was about bill HR 4833 Food Deserts Act of 2016. Food deserts
are defined as areas where fresh, affordable food is unavailable within a 1 to 10 mile
radius depending if urban or rural and where there is a high concentration of fast
food and convenience foods. The bill essentially asked for funding to build grocery stores
within these areas to help provide better options for the community. The bill required that
the grocery stores offer fresh, unprocessed, healthful foods at affordable prices. Potential
stores that would offer jobs to the people in the community and that would try to get food
from local sources, among other requirements, would be prioritized for the funding. The
bill has been introduced to a congressional committee, and is waiting approval to be sent
to the House of Representatives. I chose to write to Nancy Pelosi since this bill is an HR
and she is my federal representative.

HR 4833: https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/114/hr4833/summary