In the Media
AB 1857 Signed by Governor Newsom, for More Grocery Stores in Food-Desert Communities
10. 01. 2026
Aguiar-Curry bill targets restrictive covenants keeping grocery stores out of neighborhoods for decades
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(SACRAMENTO, CA) — Today, Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters) announced Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1857 (AB 1857) into law, helping communities bring grocery stores back, increase competition and expand access to healthy, affordable food. The law is an important step toward addressing food insecurity across California, where nearly three million low-income Californians live in food deserts.
“Just because a grocery store closes doesn’t mean a community should have to go without one,” said Assembly Majority Leader Aguiar-Curry. “AB 1857 removes an unnecessary roadblock that can keep new grocery stores from coming in. Californians deserve access to healthy, affordable foods in their neighborhoods, and this new law helps make that possible.”
AB 1857 creates a process to remove qualifying restrictive covenants from deeds and land-use agreements that prevent a property from being used to establish a new grocery store. These restrictions can remain in place for several years to several decades after a store closes or relocates, blocking new grocers from serving the community. The new law gives interested parties a path to remove these barriers, helping communities bring grocery stores back, increase competition, and expand access to affordable, healthy food.
Food deserts—neighborhoods and communities where residents lack consistent access to affordable healthy food—disproportionately affect low-income communities and communities of color, reflecting longstanding inequities in public health. When full-service grocery stores are unavailable, families have to travel farther for groceries or rely on smaller stores with fewer healthy options and higher prices. By removing barriers that can keep grocery stores out of communities, this law will help expand food access and make healthy, affordable choices more available to California families.
“If a grocer decides they can’t make their business work in a certain location, that’s always sad. But, keeping the community they served from being able to find another grocer to take their place can be really harmful to families trying to put good food on their table. Every Californian deserves access to fresh, affordable food close to home,” concluded Aguiar-Curry.
Bill sponsors had this to say about the bill’s passage out of the California State Legislature:
“For too many Californians, the closest grocery store isn’t close at all. Restrictive covenants block stores from opening. This isn’t just an inconvenience—it’s a driver of hunger and high food prices,” said Policy Director Beth Smoker, California Food and Farming Network. “At a moment when hunger is soaring in our communities, California now has a commonsense tool to tackle one of the hidden causes of food insecurity.”
“Too many families throughout California struggle to access fresh and affordable food in their community. Part of the reason is that it’s been legal for a grocery giant to close up, leave town, then block any other grocery store from taking its place for 50 years. Now, with Governor Newsom’s signature, these restrictive covenants are a thing of the past. We are grateful to our Assembly Majority Leader Aguiar-Curry and our partners at California Food and Farming Network for their hard work to see this important legislation to the finish line,” said Legislative Advocate Loyal Terry, Economic Security California Action.