Why don't poor neighborhoods have Grocery Stores? (Chicago: section 8, buy)

[noid_1985]

Aldis suck- do they even call themsevles the "stock up store" anymore? High sodium, sugar and fat in almost all of their processed goods. There's no wonder Aldis thrive in the hood- not to mention the extra long lines...

[Costa Rica Chica]

What's sad is that the high obesity rates in our poorest neighborhoods are also linked to other health problems such as asthma, high blood pressure, diabetes and heart problems. What's even sadder is that for the first time ever, more young children are being diagnosed with these types of problems, especially high blood pressure. Add to the fact that it is too dangerous in many neighborhoods for children to play outside and run around like children should, so they are pent up inside their homes. Classes like PE have been cut out of school budgets too, and many schools don't even have recess time anymore.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by aragx6

Avenger,
I doubt that's just poor neighborhoods. I'm not proud of it, but in the opposite-of-poor suburb I grew up in people I knew used to steal booze all the time.

Yeah, but the rate of theft of these products in poor areas is much higher than in wealthy areas-enough that combined with store robberies and cash register theft it puts many stores under in poor areas.

That is what I really meant to say.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by aragx6

Or we could enact public policy that makes condoms and bc accessible to everyone -- whether they have insurance or not. Every dollar you spend on that will pay itself back multiple times.

They are free already. All you have to do is go to a city or county health clinic as well as many other places...

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by noid_1985

Aldis suck- do they even call themsevles the "stock up store" anymore? High sodium, sugar and fat in almost all of their processed goods. There's no wonder Aldis thrive in the hood- not to mention the extra long lines...

The products are not anymore processed than most of the crap you find in any major grocery store. You just get them much cheaper.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by Costa Rica Chica

What's sad is that the high obesity rates in our poorest neighborhoods are also linked to other health problems such as asthma...

To be more clear:

Asthma is more clearly linked to car exhaust,living near factories, and power plants as well as growing up in housing that has high levels of lead-based paint.

To a lesser degree it is linked to exposure to extremely high levels of 2nd hand smoke on a daily basis.

[sueprnova]

I remember when DH first moved here... he was down on 79th/essex on the southside...he said there was nothing but wing/bbq/hot dog places....check cashing/payday loans and little markets that sold booze and essentials (more booze)..no place to even buy frozen food.....

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by sukwoo

One of the worst aspects of our nation's farm/food policy is the paradoxical situation we're in where the healthiest food is more expensive than the processed junk food. This isn't just a natural result of the laws of economics, but largely due to government policy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/ma...agewanted=1&hp

Blaming this situation on policy is kind of a stretch. People who are in very low income groups tend to be there for a reason, be it lack of self respect, initiative, they're stuck in a cycle of some sort, or whatnot. Thus, they’re going to take the path of least resistance when it comes to feeding their faces – most often fast food or, if they do prepare a home meal, something easy and fast (i.e. processed foods or snacks). One cannot carry a grocery store on just these items, as people are pointing out.

The Oak Park Dominick’s is within ½ mile of Austin on Lake Street and I’d see few shoppers who appeared to be from that area when I used to shop there. Similarly, the North Riverside Park Mall’s customer base is clearly poorer folks from the west side of Chicago. Yet I see few, if any, stop into Jewel or Tony’s on their way past with their electronics items and sneakers.

My wife and I shop at the Tony’s and the only time you see larger numbers of very low income shoppers there is on the first of the month. Believe me, their carts aren’t filled with the produce and fresh meats that are within arm’s length of them either. They’re filled with sugary snacks, chips, and processed foods. And it’s not like we’re not talking about the tomatoes fertilized by cats fed an organic diet in a LEED certified solar powered home that they get big bucks for at Whole Foods. We’re talking about cheap fruits and vegetables that are very affordable. But, again, they take some effort to turn into a meal, so that’s why the very poor have no use for them.

Summary – there are no grocery stores in poor neighborhoods because they would not make money there, and would probably suffer from high theft rates. To the extent this is a “policy” issue, about the only thing the government can do that I can think of would be to treat fast and processed foods like cigarettes or alcohol and allow state and local governments to tax the living crap out of them, so they become expensive enough to modify behavior. I’ve a feeling, though, that the powerful fast food industry would have a lot to say about that!

[Costa Rica Chica]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

To be more clear:

Asthma is more clearly linked to car exhaust,living near factories, and power plants as well as growing up in housing that has high levels of lead-based paint.

To a lesser degree it is linked to exposure to extremely high levels of 2nd hand smoke on a daily basis.

Yes, these are all true but they have found links between obesity and asthma as well. We are working with the National Asthma Campaign to bring asthma programs to low-income children in Chicago, and I remember talking to the executive director and he said there are links between obesity and asthma, but they don't know why. I imagine studies have been performed where these other factors aren't an issue.

[Costa Rica Chica]

Originally Posted by BRU67

My wife and I shop at the Tony’s and the only time you see larger numbers of very low income shoppers there is on the first of the month. Believe me, their carts aren’t filled with the produce and fresh meats that are within arm’s length of them either. They’re filled with sugary snacks, chips, and processed foods. And it’s not like we’re not talking about the tomatoes fertilized by cats fed an organic diet in a LEED certified solar powered home that they get big bucks for at Whole Foods. We’re talking about cheap fruits and vegetables that are very affordable. But, again, they take some effort to turn into a meal, so that’s why the very poor have no use for them.

To say that not buying fresh foods is an issue of laziness is just wrong. The reason you see what you see when you shop has a lot to do with a lack of nutritional education and perhaps a lack of knowledge of how to prepare healthier foods.