Why don't poor neighborhoods have Grocery Stores? (Chicago: schools, income)

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by Costa Rica Chica

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.

A bag of apples would be just as cheap and easy to consume as several candy bars. I don't buy this "lack of education" stuff, sorry. It's baloney (pardon the pun) and ignores the real issue, which is that individuals in low-income neighborhoods have to take accountability for themselves and their situation. That has to happen before it can be fixed. Constant excuses aren't going to cut it.

[Venom]

Originally Posted by BRU67

A bag of apples would be just as cheap and easy to consume as several candy bars. I don't buy this "lack of education" stuff, sorry. It's baloney (pardon the pun) and ignores the real issue, which is that individuals in the poorer neighborhoods have to take accountability for themselves and their situation. That has to happen before it can be fixed.

Typical

[ajolotl]

If there were a cheap, decent fruit/vegetable market within walking distance and maybe some community classes on nutrition, would people in poor areas eat better?

Probably not -- processed food tastes better and there are more calories/dollar. When you're poor your outlook tends to be very short term. A big butt today or prostate cancer in 30 years aren't sufficient motivation to change habits.

[Huckleberry3911948]

go watch "do the right thing" by spike lee then ask.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by ajolotl

If there were a cheap, decent fruit/vegetable market within walking distance and maybe some community classes on nutrition, would people in poor areas eat better?

Probably not -- processed food tastes better and there are more calories/dollar. When you're poor your outlook tends to be very short term. A big butt today or prostate cancer in 30 years aren't sufficient motivation to change habits.

No kidding. Would you rather eat a bag of Doritos and drink a 2 liter of orange Ni-Hi or have an apple and a glass of orange juice? The cost difference would be negligible, and it sure doesn't take much "education" to see which one's better for you. Yet many who lack discipline would choose the former. To modify that behavior, we'd have to do something drastic, like severely tax bad foods.

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

In poor areas the items that are stolen most often include alcohol and condoms.

One can't buy either with a Link Card.

They also represent two of the most expensive items found in a grocery store.

I know of a store that get's hit by dash and go foot traffic many times a week and it's across the street from section 8. Since they are minors the cops don't want to touch it.

The target is always booze and cigs.

[Costa Rica Chica]

Originally Posted by ajolotl

If there were a cheap, decent fruit/vegetable market within walking distance and maybe some community classes on nutrition, would people in poor areas eat better?

Probably not -- processed food tastes better and there are more calories/dollar. When you're poor your outlook tends to be very short term. A big butt today or prostate cancer in 30 years aren't sufficient motivation to change habits.

If this were the case, I'd be out of a job. I work as a program officer for several foundations that are attempting to improve low-income areas in several ways. One of the foundations focuses solely on health and nutrition, specificall on school-age children. The thinking is that with nutritional training along with cooking classes for parents, children's health will improve. Many schools and after-school facilities haven't started modeling healthy behavior until recently. This is a very new effort to change peoples' thinking. So far, the grants have been quite successful, according to rigoroud assessment of the programs (if they weren't successful, we wouldn't continue to fund them.)

Example: We have a four-year grant to an agency in Bronzeville which is developing a curriculum for an after-school program. They address the issue in a number of ways, but this is an issue that has never been addressed in this agency or in the partner CPS schools. The curriculum includes: cooking classes for children and parents, community gardening, nutrition training, fieldtrips to local grocery stores to teach healthy shopping, and nutrition campaigns that the children design to put out in the community. The children are exposed to the curriculum for 4 years. We are working with nutritionists and healthcare experts which are offering their services pro bono. This is just one of 4 projects we have in 4 different low-income neighborhoods in Chicago.

[ajolotl]

Originally Posted by Costa Rica Chica

If this were the case, I'd be out of a job. I work as a program officer for several foundations that are attempting to improve low-income areas in several ways. One of the foundations focuses solely on health and nutrition, specificall on school-age children. The thinking is that with nutritional training along with cooking classes for parents, children's health will improve. Many schools and after-school facilities haven't started modeling healthy behavior until recently. This is a very new effort to change peoples' thinking. So far, the grants have been quite successful, according to rigoroud assessment of the programs (if they weren't successful, we wouldn't continue to fund them.)

Example: We have a four-year grant to an agency in Bronzeville which is developing a curriculum for an after-school program. They address the issue in a number of ways, but this is an issue that has never been addressed in this agency or in the partner CPS schools. The curriculum includes: cooking classes for children and parents, community gardening, nutrition training, fieldtrips to local grocery stores to teach healthy shopping, and nutrition campaigns that the children design to put out in the community. The children are exposed to the curriculum for 4 years. We are working with nutritionists and healthcare experts which are offering their services pro bono. This is just one of 4 projects we have in 4 different low-income neighborhoods in Chicago.

Good luck. It's a great country.

[Costa Rica Chica]

Originally Posted by ajolotl

Good luck. It's a great country.

It's an uphill battle and it isn't easy, but if no one does nothing - things will never improve. Regardless of what anyone thinks, there are a hell of a lot of people both with resources trying to make change and people from those communities who are working damned hard to make a difference, especially in Chicago.

There are so many issues which prevent people from getting out of poverty and reasons why those neighborhoods are so bad. I'm not saying there aren't lazy, violent, evil mo-fo's out there who are abusing the system and breaking the law. But I guarantee you there are many more people who are victims of these people and of society who want desperately for their children to have better lives. I know I get all preachy on these threads, but it drives me nuts when people have the attitude that people in these neighborhoods somehow deserve to live in these conditions, or that they (in general) are lazy which somehow led to them being poor. It's the clasic hatred of the unknown.

[skipcromer]

Originally Posted by BRU67

No kidding. Would you rather eat a bag of Doritos and drink a 2 liter of orange Ni-Hi or have an apple and a glass of orange juice? The cost difference would be negligible, and it sure doesn't take much "education" to see which one's better for you. Yet many who lack discipline would choose the former. To modify that behavior, we'd have to do something drastic, like severely tax bad foods.

Two Double Cheesburgers = 2 Dollars. Can you find me a comparable and healthy food at the grocery store for the same price?