North Carolina House bill seeks to combat food insecurity, assist farmers, and set grocery pricing rules

State Rep. Eric Ager has introduced a bill intended to address food insecurity, provide greater support to local farmers, and place new restrictions on grocery store pricing practices throughout North Carolina, according to the North Carolina State House.

Designated as HB 1057 and introduced April 27 during the 2025 regular session, the legislation uses the short title “Affordable Food Act.”

The following summary, based on the bill’s text, contains explanatory interpretation for clarity on what is proposed.

The measure establishes various programs to lower food insecurity, reinforce North Carolina’s agricultural community, preserve farmland and implement limits on grocery pricing. It instructs state officials to obtain federal authorization and funds for SNAP nutrition incentive efforts, replaces federal SNAP administrative funding lost through Public Law 119-21, and launches a program for state food sourcing that gives priority to small and underserved farms. It would also increase support for the Farmland Preservation Trust Fund, initiate food assistance for military personnel and veterans, and provide funds for mobile food markets, food banks, plus a pilot program for grocery and food retailing in underserved communities. Dynamic pricing via electronic shelf labels would be banned in retail grocery stores beginning Oct. 1, 2026, with most other provisions set to take effect July 1, 2026.

Of the four primary sponsors, B. Ray Jeffers and Ager were behind the most bill proposals (21 each) in the 2025 regular session.

Legislation in North Carolina requires lawmakers to follow a step-by-step pathway before becoming law. A legislator begins by filing a bill, after which it goes to a committee for consideration. Each chamber must read the bill three times. If amendments are made after passage in one chamber, identical language must be agreed upon by both before final approval. Once consensus is reached, the bill heads to the governor, who then has 10 days (or 30 if the legislature is out of session) to either approve with a signature, issue a veto, or let it become law without signing.

Further information about this and other measures is available here.

Ager earned his BA after graduating from the United States Naval Academy in 1996.

A Democrat, Ager won election to the North Carolina State House in 2023, succeeding Caleb Rudow as the 114th House district representative.