Ohio is riddled with food deserts.

Affordable, accessible fresh foods and healthy options for grocery shopping are not available to as many as 2 million residents.

A report this year by the Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies found 67 counties with at least one food desert, though in some counties, there are several.

And it’s not just rural populations suffering. Nearly 60% of Cleveland residents are in food deserts.

WTOL reports the U.S. Department of Agriculture calls most of Toledo a food desert.

“When I lived in the inner city of Toledo on the north end, there was no grocery stores within a reasonable distance of my house,” state Rep. Josh Williams, R-Sylvania Township, told WTOL.

Now, Williams is one of the primary sponsors of House Bill 543, to “Create a food desert elimination grant program.”

It sits in the House Community Revitalization Committee.

The measure would give selected stores (not major chain grocery stores) grants of up to $15,000 per year to stock and sell fresh products.

Williams told WTOL the focus would be on convenience and corner stores where much of what is sold is highly processed, high in sugar and less healthy than fresh options.

While the idea is a good one, there are questions: At approximately $288 a week will stores be able to stock what their customers need to eat healthier?

If so, how long will the program last?

Will stores be able to sustain such inventory if funding is cut off?

And there is another thing to consider: What if no one buys the fresh food?

Will there be an education component to help consumers understand why the new items have appeared and how they can use it to keep their families healthier?

Will there be recourse for store owners if they find they are using up shelf space on food that ends up going to waste and getting thrown away each week?

It’s easy to be hopeful that last scenario would not play out, but it hammers home the point that there is much to consider in planning a program such as what HB 543 proposes.

Lawmakers should give it serious consideration, but they must also ask questions that could perhaps lead to even better solutions.

There is no doubt action MUST be taken in addressing the number of food deserts (and those affected) in Ohio.

The trick will be finding the right recipe.