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Summary: Supermarkets open and close based on profit per square foot. Therefore they close in poor neighborhoods and stack up 3 or 4 deep in wealthy neighborhoo

Summary: Supermarkets open and close based on profit per square foot. Therefore they close in poor neighborhoods and stack up 3 or 4 deep in wealthy neighborhoods. The author calls for some type of regulation on supermarkets or "the control of food supply". For example rules that chain stores provide evidence they are appropriate for the income level of the neighborhood, as in San Francisco. "Until then, the food supply of UK cities – and the character of our neighbourhoods – will be subject only to the law of which supermarket locations are most profitable per square foot." This is related to the "food desert" phenomenon cropping up in the US. Haven't heard much being done on this front: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_desert https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_desert

nostromo 9y ago
The food desert theory has largely been dismissed as a cause for poor eating, and are rather the result of consumer choices. http://chicagopolicyreview.org/2015/10/26/if-you-build-it-they-wont-come-why-eliminating-food-deserts-wont-close-the-nutrition-gap/ http://chicagopolicyreview.org/2015/10/26/if-you-build-it-th... > For low income and education households, the most publicized reason that people eat poorly is that they do not have access to healthier options. Media coverage of efforts to combat nutritional disparities has focused primarily on efforts by grocers like Whole Foods to open stores in underserved neighborhoods. However, according to the study by Schnell et al., policy initiatives focusing on increasing access to nutritious food will only solve a small portion of these nutritional differences. Controlling for income level, the study finds that differences in access only explain 10 percent of disparities in consumption across education groups. > Furthermore, the study finds that households do not strongly respond to the entry of new stores into their geographic area, even though they are aware of the addition of new stores. When households change the mix of stores they visit once a new store is introduced, the researchers do not observe a lasting change in the nutritional value of their purchases.
- KGIII 9y ago
  I always get a chuckle about people saying area in cities are food deserts. A food desert is somewhere you can't get delivery, tacos from a taco truck, or a pizza from anywhere but a convenience store. Nunavut is a food desert. Pickle Lake is a food desert. I live in a food desert. If it is ten blocks to a Safeway, it's not a food desert. If you can call and get delivery from three different types of ethnic food, it's not a food desert. Even where I live, 25 miles from a grocery store, there are all sorts of choices. I have a whole wilderness full of game and have pretty much finished harvesting my garden. I've been in cities around the globe, and the only ones I've seen that are worthy of the title are hugely impoverished and probably not far from a war zone. I have seen poor people in cities who can't afford much food, however.
  - allenz 9y ago
    Food deserts don't apply to people who are well off. A food desert is a place where healthy food is much more costly and less accessible than junk food, which is true in most slum areas. Poor people generally can't afford delivery. As we reduce the number of people affected by famine, food deserts become an increasingly significant driver of health disparities between rich and poor.
    - dx034 9y ago
      Products tend to be more expensive if they're rarely sold (esp perishable items). That you don't find healthy food in some rural areas in the US is not because supermarkets have no means of getting them there, it's because they'd not sell much. Asking supermarkets to stock items they'd have to throw away is questionable from an ethical standpoint.
      - allenz 9y ago
        Yes, sadly, junk food is more tasty and more convenient. It's a problem in cities and rural areas alike. There's lots of room for creative solutions without going communist. I support a tax on junk food and a subsidy on healthy food. Aside from that, governments and communities can collaborate to educate people about the benefits of healthy food, hold workshops on easy and tasty cooking, put together good financing deals for community-based markets offering fresh and local food, encourage community gardens, set up healthy food trucks, etc. We can help by voting, volunteering, or working for a social venture.
        deleted 9y ago
        [deleted]
  - Spooky23 9y ago
    I grew up in a place like you. The difference is that you have a car. I live in a small city now. I’m a quick drive or walk (10 blocks) to a small grocery store with limited selection and higher prices that mostly caters to students. Most shopping gets done in supermarkets outside the city... 10m car ride or 30 minute bus ride. From the inner city area, that’s usually a 90 minute bus ride that runs every 45 minutes. Poor people don’t work 9-5, so they buy most food at bodegas at inflated prices. Stuff like produce is rarely available, unless Kure lucky to be near a Chinese market.
mnglkhn2 9y ago
Maybe the answer is not to force private companies to cover a money-losing store in a “food deserted” area but to ask the government to provide this service?!
- VLM 9y ago
  The way this has been traditionally handled has been weird prop tax relief and govt backed ultra low interest loan schemes. The problem is criminality is so high in some areas that no amount of property tax relief will make up for shoplifting losses. Its all water under the bridge anyway, as delivery services, amazon, etc, will make the concept of a supermarket as quaint as the concept of a record store or book store, in a couple years. I already get food delivered via amazon, I can't buy decent loose leaf tea locally or conveniently via any brick and mortar. A true government operated store would resemble the DMV; wait in line for two hours to buy a bag of rice only to be told they only provide beans at this facility and you need to fill out another form and wait in line again. Then fill out the correct form and for homeland security reasons they can only provide the beans via mail delivery to your home address. And they can't give you beans until you give them proof of homeowners insurance and cooking training classes.
  - dragonwriter 9y ago
    > The problem is criminality is so high in some areas that no amount of property tax relief will make up for shoplifting losses. So subsidize it with dedicated law enforcement presence rather than tax relief. > Its all water under the bridge anyway, as delivery services, amazon, etc, will make the concept of a supermarket as quaint as the concept of a record store or book store Delivery services are also problematic in areas of high criminality.
    - sliverstorm 9y ago
      Seriously, was going to say, it might just be a matter of time before delivery services decline to service certain zip codes due to delivery truck robbery & porch theft losses. Unlike the USPS they have no mandate to serve all addresses.
arjie 9y ago
Dude, if you go to a Safeway in a crime-ridden area it’s a completely different experience. A ten minute visit will take half an hour because everything will be locked up and the attendant you ask to unlock it will go back to the counter to call someone to unlock a thing and they will never show up. It’s a disaster.
- thinkMOAR 9y ago
  Do they have the same Safeway gun policy in those areas?
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]

nostromo 9y ago

The food desert theory has largely been dismissed as a cause for poor eating, and are rather the result of consumer choices. http://chicagopolicyreview.org/2015/10/26/if-you-build-it-they-wont-come-why-eliminating-food-deserts-wont-close-the-nutrition-gap/ http://chicagopolicyreview.org/2015/10/26/if-you-build-it-th... > For low income and education households, the most publicized reason that people eat poorly is that they do not have access to healthier options. Media coverage of efforts to combat nutritional disparities has focused primarily on efforts by grocers like Whole Foods to open stores in underserved neighborhoods. However, according to the study by Schnell et al., policy initiatives focusing on increasing access to nutritious food will only solve a small portion of these nutritional differences. Controlling for income level, the study finds that differences in access only explain 10 percent of disparities in consumption across education groups. > Furthermore, the study finds that households do not strongly respond to the entry of new stores into their geographic area, even though they are aware of the addition of new stores. When households change the mix of stores they visit once a new store is introduced, the researchers do not observe a lasting change in the nutritional value of their purchases.

KGIII 9y ago
I always get a chuckle about people saying area in cities are food deserts. A food desert is somewhere you can't get delivery, tacos from a taco truck, or a pizza from anywhere but a convenience store. Nunavut is a food desert. Pickle Lake is a food desert. I live in a food desert. If it is ten blocks to a Safeway, it's not a food desert. If you can call and get delivery from three different types of ethnic food, it's not a food desert. Even where I live, 25 miles from a grocery store, there are all sorts of choices. I have a whole wilderness full of game and have pretty much finished harvesting my garden. I've been in cities around the globe, and the only ones I've seen that are worthy of the title are hugely impoverished and probably not far from a war zone. I have seen poor people in cities who can't afford much food, however.
- allenz 9y ago
  Food deserts don't apply to people who are well off. A food desert is a place where healthy food is much more costly and less accessible than junk food, which is true in most slum areas. Poor people generally can't afford delivery. As we reduce the number of people affected by famine, food deserts become an increasingly significant driver of health disparities between rich and poor.
  - dx034 9y ago
    Products tend to be more expensive if they're rarely sold (esp perishable items). That you don't find healthy food in some rural areas in the US is not because supermarkets have no means of getting them there, it's because they'd not sell much. Asking supermarkets to stock items they'd have to throw away is questionable from an ethical standpoint.
    - allenz 9y ago
      Yes, sadly, junk food is more tasty and more convenient. It's a problem in cities and rural areas alike. There's lots of room for creative solutions without going communist. I support a tax on junk food and a subsidy on healthy food. Aside from that, governments and communities can collaborate to educate people about the benefits of healthy food, hold workshops on easy and tasty cooking, put together good financing deals for community-based markets offering fresh and local food, encourage community gardens, set up healthy food trucks, etc. We can help by voting, volunteering, or working for a social venture.
      - deleted 9y ago
        [deleted]
- Spooky23 9y ago
  I grew up in a place like you. The difference is that you have a car. I live in a small city now. I’m a quick drive or walk (10 blocks) to a small grocery store with limited selection and higher prices that mostly caters to students. Most shopping gets done in supermarkets outside the city... 10m car ride or 30 minute bus ride. From the inner city area, that’s usually a 90 minute bus ride that runs every 45 minutes. Poor people don’t work 9-5, so they buy most food at bodegas at inflated prices. Stuff like produce is rarely available, unless Kure lucky to be near a Chinese market.

mnglkhn2 9y ago

Maybe the answer is not to force private companies to cover a money-losing store in a “food deserted” area but to ask the government to provide this service?!

VLM 9y ago
The way this has been traditionally handled has been weird prop tax relief and govt backed ultra low interest loan schemes. The problem is criminality is so high in some areas that no amount of property tax relief will make up for shoplifting losses. Its all water under the bridge anyway, as delivery services, amazon, etc, will make the concept of a supermarket as quaint as the concept of a record store or book store, in a couple years. I already get food delivered via amazon, I can't buy decent loose leaf tea locally or conveniently via any brick and mortar. A true government operated store would resemble the DMV; wait in line for two hours to buy a bag of rice only to be told they only provide beans at this facility and you need to fill out another form and wait in line again. Then fill out the correct form and for homeland security reasons they can only provide the beans via mail delivery to your home address. And they can't give you beans until you give them proof of homeowners insurance and cooking training classes.
- dragonwriter 9y ago
  > The problem is criminality is so high in some areas that no amount of property tax relief will make up for shoplifting losses. So subsidize it with dedicated law enforcement presence rather than tax relief. > Its all water under the bridge anyway, as delivery services, amazon, etc, will make the concept of a supermarket as quaint as the concept of a record store or book store Delivery services are also problematic in areas of high criminality.
  - sliverstorm 9y ago
    Seriously, was going to say, it might just be a matter of time before delivery services decline to service certain zip codes due to delivery truck robbery & porch theft losses. Unlike the USPS they have no mandate to serve all addresses.

arjie 9y ago

Dude, if you go to a Safeway in a crime-ridden area it’s a completely different experience. A ten minute visit will take half an hour because everything will be locked up and the attendant you ask to unlock it will go back to the counter to call someone to unlock a thing and they will never show up. It’s a disaster.

thinkMOAR 9y ago
Do they have the same Safeway gun policy in those areas?
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]