The City Spurs Grocery Stores to Underserved
The Bloomberg administration, which has already cut down on trans fats and distributed fruit vendors to produce-anemic neighborhoods, is now seeking to provide incentives for grocery stores to open in areas where most families spend their food budget at bodegas and drug stores. The City Planning Commission unanimously approved the proposal on Wednesday, reports The…
The Bloomberg administration, which has already cut down on trans fats and distributed fruit vendors to produce-anemic neighborhoods, is now seeking to provide incentives for grocery stores to open in areas where most families spend their food budget at bodegas and drug stores. The City Planning Commission unanimously approved the proposal on Wednesday, reports The New York Times, which would grant zoning and tax incentives to grocery stores, with set requirements about how much produce and other foods they sell. The city is eying northern Manhattan, central Brooklyn, the South Bronx, and downtown Jamaica in Queens. Many city officials, food experts, and grocery store executives approve of the plan, meant to spur economic growth in addition to encouraging health (and fighting the rising rates of obesity and diabetes), but the Times mentions a recent report to Congress by the Department of Agriculture that shows an uncertain correlation between obesity and access to healthy, fresh foods. Avi Kaner, a supermarket operator, said education is the main solution. If you force distribution of product to a population that’s not interested in it, or not educated in it, and the grocery stores can’t make a profit, he told the Times, they’ll eventually leave. Check out the Times article for more details about the program, similar programs across the country, and a finer breakdown of the pros and cons.
A Plan to Add Supermarkets to Poor Areas [NY Times]
FRESH Food Store Program Overview [DOCP]
NYC’s Neighborhood Grocery Store and Supermarket Shortage [DOCP]
Photo by Royce Bair
FSRG;
Let me state something heretical (in these days). I think that for SOME people, smoking a couple of cigarettes a day is not that bad (just like it’s not that bad to have a can of soda a day). It helps them to relax (instead of taking some drug to do so)and supresses their appetite.
My old grandma used to say it best: everything in moderation. Moderating one’s diet and behavior seems to be a lost art these days, however.
DIBS – I think Drug Inc… is a far bigger problem for this country than Food Inc – if you think that’s stupid – so be it.
fsrq, that sounded pretty stupid.
Dittoberg, thanks for the idea, “lentil bolognese” – I’m always looking for new things to do with lentils. One bag will last me two or three days – ideal for a cheap and lazy guy like me – but after a gazillion variations of lentil soup and lentil salad I’ve started running out of ideas.
Chinatown has the best produce & fish/seafood because the turnover is so high. years ago there was a story done by one of the TV stations and China won hands down for fish freshness over ALL of the supermarkets.
“I bet 90% of Americans don’t know their tryglyceride levels either….”
So….People are already living longer than ever, so whatever it is, it cant be all that bad. and besides for 90% of those who would have a high number the approach wouldnt be to eat better, it would be to prescribe a bunch of super expensive pills (of marginal overall benefit) and tons of expensive followup tests anyway…..
Given Ins costs and health care costs – better that most people dont know.
One problem with fresh veg and many groceries in general is that the profit margin is incredibly small. For the bodega owner with high rent and limited space, there’s little incentive to stock something that might end up being tossed, and doesn’t make that much money to begin with. You can make much more money off a package of Oreos, and they have a shockingly long shelf life.
As for Chinatown, food is cheap because many of the shops own their space, which makes a huge difference. Chinatown, while affordable, can be hard to navigate for the uninitiated–incredibly crowded with little English spoken. I imagine it’s overwhelming for many non-Chinese–and has been for me at times.
“A lumberjack breakfast is fine if you’re going to be out chopping trees all day. The problem is when you get it at a drive-through window on your way to a desk job.”
!!
rf – unfortunately the census doesn’t break it down that way, but I’m sure you’re correct because from what I’ve read its the children and subsequent progeny that do well while the immigrant parents are just working like crazy to provide for them.