We're often seen here hooting and hollering and get all excited every time a snazzy new grocery store opens. We've brought you new Whole Foods (ostrich eggs, anyone?), Trader Joe's, Fairway and Fresh & Easy stores.
But, today, let's take a look at the many grocery stores closing in NYC: "A continuing decline in the number of neighborhood supermarkets has made it harder for millions of New Yorkers to find fresh and affordable food within walking distance of their homes," reports The New York Times.
Related: Is the grocery store shake up bad for New Yorkers?
Drug stores (ahem, Duane Reade, can you sell more fresh food?) are opening up where grocery stores once stood. The Times points out the irony: drug stores sell candy and soda at low costs and then they profit again selling prescriptions people with poor eating habits.
See how the New York City neighborhoods that lack access to fresh-food retailers also have high rates of obesity and diabetes?
Some of us live in Brooklyn and are seeing this happen first hand. We tend to substitute by buying fresh produce at Greenmarkets, shopping at stores in Manhattan, or ordering Fresh Direct, but people with tight budgets, limited mobility or more restricted work schedules might not be able have the same access to these sources. We hope NYC's green carts movement takes off.
Do you see this happening where you live too?
The disparity can be maddening. Did any NY Times readers notice this juxtaposition? In the same section of the paper, we're reading this story about people in wheelchairs traveling long distances to get access to fresh produce followed by a column about an organic coach of sorts that teaches upper-middle-class mothers how to cook (or to teach them how to teach their help to cook). It seems like there has to be a better way to give everyone better access to fresh food and savvy nutrition information.
Any ideas on how we can help?
(Image: David Gonzalez/The New York Times)
Ugh, this makes my head hurt. I live in a poorer neighborhood in Baltimore, and the nearest store that sells fresh produce is at least a mile away. Not a terrible distance to walk, but long enough if you're on foot or have children in tow. We used to have the arabbers come by in the spring and summer (they walk with horse drawn carts selling produce), but then the city condemned their stables and won't help them rebuild, so there's another source gone. I get aggravated when people say that individuals living in lower class neighborhoods do not want fresh produce/fresh products and that's why it is not sold here. Plain and simple, people use what is most convenient. If you are hungry and faced with the choice of going across the street for a candy bar or walking a mile to get an apple, guess what wins 90% of the time?
view zero's profile
Recently, a medium-sized supermarket of a mainstream chain went out of business near my mom's work, in the downtown section of our city. Since it was part of the chain we normally go to, she shopped there all the time. We thought it would have been a cool idea if Whole Foods could have moved in there, but that would have been a pipe dream. (We won't shop at our local Co-op. They're weird and judgmental.)
view LH-C's profile
Oops forgot to mention a drugstore went in!
view LH-C's profile