Evaluating the Unintended Consequences of Sacramento’s Healthy Food Exemption

Allie Reimold, PhD
Postdoctoral Scholar, Department of Human Ecology
University of California, Davis

In 2020, the City of Sacramento passed the “Healthy Food Exemption,” a policy amendment that allows retailers to circumvent local tobacco sales restrictions if they stock “healthy” foods and beverages (i.e., fresh fruits and vegetables). The Healthy Food Exemption resulted in 33 new tobacco retailers in the City of Sacramento between 2020 and 2024, accounting for 45% of all new tobacco retailers in the city. We conducted observations in stores that used the Healthy Food Exemption and found that only 21% of these retailers were in compliance with the exemption requirements, largely driven by a lack of fresh fruits and vegetables, and that these retailers stocked large quantities of particularly harmful products (e.g., tobacco, alcohol, sweetened beverages).