Mark Winston Griffith

When (Super)Markets Fail Neighborhoods

With recent news that rising food prices around the world are creating a food crisis, it's important to remember that most Americans do not face hunger like tens of millions in the developing world. At the same time, a recent New York Times article reminds us that access to fresh and quality food continues to be a pressing community development issue in New York City.

A recent study has shown that, faced with thinning profit margins, neighborhood supermarkets are declining in numbers in New York City. Although the problem affects communities of all kinds, low- and moderate-income areas, which already have higher obesity rates and fewer fresh food options, are taken an even harder hit.

While the City has combated related health issues, like its restaurant ban of trans fats and supports community based agricultural efforts, the need for fresh food options in low- and moderate income areas and neighborhoods of color is far outstripping the efforts to meet that need. Nonetheless, a burgeoning food security movement gaining slowly stream throughout the City, consisting of initiatives like community gardens, food coops and community supported agriculture (CSA) projects, offer some hope that when policy makers and the supermarket industry can't do enough to provide neighborhoods with healthy options, communities can do for themselves.

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Posted at 1:23 PM, May 07, 2008 in Community Development
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