For people who live in food deserts, neighborhoods with no easy access to affordable, fresh food, eating healthy can be a challenge. Many Latino families in Chicago live in these areas where a quick trip to the grocery store isn't possible. However, with some help from state funds, one grocer in Illinois is expanding into these underserved neighborhoods, bringing health and new jobs along with it. Mariano’s Fresh Markets will build five new grocery stores in Chicago food desert neighborhoods with the help of $5 million in Build Illinois bond proceeds committed by Gov. Pat Quinn, the company announced in early July. It’s the first time that Build Illinois bonds will be used to boost healthy food choices in low-income areas, said David Roeder, spokesman for the Illinois ...
A stretch of road in North Fort Collins, CO has little room for walking on either sides, yet many residents make the dangerous trek on foot because of limited transportation options. A main health care provider and a grocery store are just a few of the services that sit at the other side of the road. For many, the unsafe road conditions make getting to these services extremely difficult, if they go at all. Seeing this barrier to both healthy food access and physical activity, Vida Sana, a community coalition addressing health disparities among Hispanic/Latinos and low-income community members in North Fort Collins, decided to take action. In the Spring of 2012, several Vida Sana members participated in a project with CanDo, a program housed at the University of ...
Community members in Southeast Houston are looking forward to more healthy food options. Plans for a new 21,000 square foot grocery store are in the works, according to residents and City Councilman Dwight Boykins. In an area full of corner stores and liquor stores, a new grocery store will be well-received, residents say. The store will begin construction in summer 2014, with a potential store opening in January 2015. UPDATE: On Monday June 30, 2014, Houston Mayor Annise Parker, council members Stephen Costello and Dwight Boykins, the Houston Redevelopment Authority and others broke ground on the grocery store project. Meanwhile in North Houston, Councilman Jerry Davis is focused on getting a major grocery store chain to move in his district. A deal is in the works, he ...
Many Latino neighborhoods don't have easy access to fresh, affordable fruits and vegetables. When local grocery store owners take it upon themselves to stock their shelves with healthy apples, oranges, and bundles of broccoli, it can make a lasting effect on the health of the community. Jose Garcia owns a handful of grocery stores in the Goshen, Indiana area. He immigrated from Mexico when he was 18, and later moved to Indiana where he began working for a local grocery store. His experiences there led him to open up his own grocery store, Carniceria San Jose, in Goshen in 2002. After this success, he opened a handful of other stores in the area as well as a taqueria. Now he is expanding one of his stores so he can sell more fresh fruits and vegetables, which are ...
When families don't have access to fresh fruits and vegetables it can be hard to eat healthy. In New York City, many folks in the Bronx suffer from too few fresh food options and too many unhealthy snacks at local corner stores and bodegas. The Bronx has an obesity rate of 32%, and when compared to the rate in Manhattan (14%), city health officials wanted to do something to help. So the City unveiled Shop Healthy NYC in June 2013, a pilot program to see if assisting willing corner stores, grocery stores, and bodegas in low-income areas like the Bronx in buying and promoting more fresh produce and healthy items could help families eat better. The Health Department unveiled this Wednesday June 22, 2014 the results of the Shop Healthy NYC, which launched in 170 East New York ...
The Avondale Meadows area in Indianapolis, Indiana, where almost 10% of folks who live there are Latino, is considered a USDA food desert, a low-income area with no full-service grocery store nearby. Will King, who's had a barber shop in the area for several years, says a lot of people go to the convenience store, dollar store or gas station for groceries and pay a lot more than they should. The United Northeast Community Development Corp. is working hard to recruit a large grocery store to the area to give relief to families who want affordable, healthy food. "It may take a tax abatement or creating a special TIF within our area, but the idea is that if we're able to work with them, they'll begin a community grocery store and not just a run of the-mill grocery store within ...
Families living in South Los Angeles, the majority of which are Latino, now have a new neighborhood place to buy fresh, healthy food. A new full-service supermarket is now up and running in South Los Angeles, bringing fresh food and new jobs to the area. The new Northgate Gonzalez market took 15 years to develop and is anchored to the Juanita Tate Marketplace outdoor retail center.. California FreshWorks Fund awarded Northgate Gonzalez a $50,000 grant and $5.5 million loan to provide healthier options and more jobs for the community. The market will bring more than 100 new living wage jobs with benefits. FreshWorks is a key effort of The California Endowment’s Health Happens Here campaign, which seeks to promote healthy neighborhoods through increased access to fresh ...
Springfield, MA is over 40% Latino, and many of these families live in areas without access to fresh, healthful, and affordable foods. The Mason Square neighborhood in Springfield is one of those areas. Since 2005 The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, the Mason Square Food Justice Initiative, and the Mason Square Health Task Force have been working with other community organizations to bring in a full-service grocery store into the neighborhood, one that would carry a large selection of fruits and vegetables, as well as fresh-baked goods, meats, fish and a deli. It’s part of the city’s master plan that includes the State Street Corridor Improvement Program and the 2012 Rebuild Springfield Plan, according to Jay Minkarah, President and CEO of DevelopSpringfield. He ...
Community groups, non-profits, and everyday citizens across the U.S. work towards getting fresh, healthy foods to families who don't have them near by. In North Carolina, one of 10 states with the highest food insecurity, state lawmakers are considering a legislative solution. A bill introduced last year by Rep. Yvonne Lewis Holley initially sought incentives to encourage small grocery stores to open in food deserts. But, under the state’s current budget, funding for the bill was not possible, so it was changed to a study bill. After a few grocery stores closed in Holley’s district, fast food restaurants were left to fill the gaps. This inspired her to pursue legislation that would support healthier food options. “If we can support fast food restaurants, we can support a ...
