Transforming Urban "Food Deserts"
http://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2010-07-07/transforming-urban-food-deserts
Like many American cities, the neighborhoods of Baltimore are spotted with "food deserts"- entire communities without supermarkets or other healthy food sources in walking distance. So Charm City is pioneering innovative ideas to get healthy food into unhealthy communities. We explore new efforts to encourage healthy eating in Baltimore and the District, from "virtual supermarkets" to zoning regulations.
Guests
Holly Freishtat
Food Policy Director, Baltimore City Department of Planning
Pooja Aggarwal
Program Coordinator, Virtual Supermarket Project, Baltimore City Health Department
Alexandra Ashbrook
Director, D.C. Hunger Solutions
Comments
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i grew in rural southern maryland and the nearest grocery store to me was about fifteen miles away. the only place to obtain sustenance without a half hour drive was gas stations and conivence stores. this lead to me eating packaged cakes and soft drinks for meals. this is a serious problem all over the country.
I Savannah, GA they have a weekly Farmer's Market in the central park in the downtown area, Forsyth Park, where people can use their Food Benefits Cards to purchase tokens which can then be used only at the vendors in the Farmer's Market. This enables them to purchase healthy foods every Saturday in the park.
I just graduated UMBC this past year, I wrote about this in an economic policy class. Baltimore has very large problems. I had a very similar idea last year the virtual supermarket is a very effective solution, from both an economics view and a technological view. How would you get involved with this effort.
The comment about the higher costs is right, but there are incentives which can be used, such as tax breaks. The food stamps are not only a definite form of payment, but they are not as hard to process as many may think.
The residents of these neighborhoods will not harm these stores if they need them.
I would love to get involved with this program. PLEASE contact me
Corey Jennings
corey.jennings@gmail.com
Two thoughts:
First, regardless of whether the grocery store is a 15 minute walk, or a two-mile drive, there's a very deep cultural issue here. The poor eat poorly--not only because it's cheap, but because it's convenient. Processed food, cartons of lo mein, etc, etc... are quick and easy. If you're working two jobs, that's important.
Secondly, the programs your guests have outlined sound pretty expensive. A great example of how it's not only very expensive to be poor, but also very expensive to run a government with a disproportionate number of the poor. We need to either institute a regional "poverty tax" (paid for by affluent DC and VA municipalities) to fund these sorts of programs; either that or more equitably disperse the region's poor to areas outside of The District.
I did my master's thesis on food deserts in Washington, D.C. One of the most interesting things I discovered is that WIC is more likely to be accepted at stores in higher-income neighborhoods, which is completely counter-intuitive to the purpose of the program.
Currently Philadelphia and New York are testing a number of exciting programs that could easily be implemented here in DC as well.
One thing I saw in other countries, such as Korea, was that there was a regular "Market Day" every five days in every district of various cities, where the food vendors would actually make a regular circuit from district to district to sell at the markets. An example of how the market would work is, a side street would be closed to traffic on every day that ends with either a 3 and an 8 (or a 2 and a 7), and would function as an urban Farmer's Market.
Maybe there are other solutions to the problem which can be found around the world that are already successful in their home countries.
One element of the problem of Food Deserts which I haven't heard brought up is crime in the neighborhoods lacking grocery stores is crime.
I know this goes to the larger problem of urban plight, but how can anyone expect businesses, large or small, to open and operate stores in areas that are crime-riddled?
Once business operators believe their stores, and their employees, will be secure operating a grocery store in an urban area, they will return to where the money is.
Use of the term "Baltimore" is vague and misleading. I wish you and your guests would not conflate but make the distinction between Baltimore City and Baltimore County, two very different places. It appears you are discussing Baltimore City only.
I doubt you would compare Anacostia with Bethesda or Rockville. Please exercise equal specificity here.