The New Republic

I don't know how it stacks up now but quite a number of years ago, on a few occasions when all I needed was milk, my local 7 - 11 undercut Safeway slightly on the price. But that was about the only thing that wasn't priced lower than at a supermarket. The decline of the numbers of supermarkets in poor neighborhoods is a worrisome thing. The poor spend a higher percentage of their income on necessities than do the better off, of course. And then too, with oil at around $125 a barrel, driving is getting yet more expensive.. If this phenomenon continues and widens, maybe we will need an urban policy initiative to deal with it - how about free (i.e., taxpayer subsidized) supermarket shuttles?

- liberal reformer

May 14, 2008 at 5:06pm

In many cases, poor neighborhoods actually have the market necessary to support a supermarket, but national chains are very wary of placing stores there. (This is a case where the wisdom of the market fails noticeably.) One option might be to support locally owned. intermediate-sized groceries. On the south side of Chicago, the Hyde Park Co-Op operated for decades as the only grocer for miles; as a co-op, it was owned by its customers, and therefore wouldn't move out of the neighborhood. (It closed this past year because of bad business decisions, not because of fundamental flaws in its ownership.) Barack Obama probably shopped there; it was the closest grocery store to his home for a long time. An Obama administration might find some way to promote cooperatively owned enterprises in poor and rural areas.

- benjamin81

May 14, 2008 at 5:35pm

This is another of the many failures of our society as a whole.  If there's a reasonable population density, there should be access to foods priced at about the same as those elsewhere.  I'm not saying socialism, but the major market chains may need some security incentives or help to get into these unserved areas.  

- WaltB

May 14, 2008 at 10:13pm

On a side note to this issue, many urban areas are increasingly turning to farmers markets as a supplement/replacement to supermarkets. The Takoma Park market on the edge of DC serves an impressive variety of cultural, ethnic, and economic populations, from yuppies to food stamps. If I recall correctly, Maryland and/or Virginia has a program in which food stamps are worth more at farmers markets for fresh produce than they are for generic goods, thus making that food more affordable and accessible for the folks in question and supporting local farmers in the process.

Out here in Missouri, the Department of Agriculture recieved funding to supply 17 EBT machines to farmers markets around the state, allowing those farmers to accept food stamps for their product. This, again, allows our markets to reach a wider population than the stereotypical yuppie core, and gets fresh, healthy food into the hands of lower-income populations. For you city people, don't forget that farmers markets are rarely just vegetables; among our 70+ local vendors, we support a dairy, 5-6 meat producers (chicken, pork, beef, goat, lamb, buffalo), multiple bakeries and orchards, and so on, all locally-owned independant farms and businesses. The loss of grocery stores may be a perfect storm, but the growth in farmers markets and the rise in the cost of industrial food shows the way to a perfect calm that re-integrates local production, healthy food, and rural-urban partnerships that are far better for the country in the long run. Of course, none of our current candidates have a clue about this sort of thing, including Michelle "who can afford to buy fresh fruit?" Obama.

- literatehobo

May 15, 2008 at 10:21am

In my above post, I of course meant to write "was priced lower".

- liberal reformer

May 15, 2008 at 5:43pm

Mohan Munasinghe, reporting for Britain's intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC), thinks

- Anonymous

May 16, 2008 at 2:14pm