Why is there a shortage of grocery stores and fresh food options in Wards 7 and 8?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No vendor wants to get murdered over $100 and a cucumber

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No vendor wants to get murdered over $100 and a cucumber

This guy is a joker

[Anonymous]

Obviously someone who learned to cook from a Guatemalan or Chinese peasant is going to be happier to do things with fresh vegetables than someone who learned to cook from an urban WOHM, which is what black women in the north have historically been.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Supply and demand, my friends. That's how economics works. Inventory and store locations became more and more demand driven throughout the 80s with just-in-time inventory and an emphasis on lean strategies. Nobody is going to stock a bunch of fresh food that will spoil out of the goodness of their heart for the 3% of shoppers in Ward 8 who want fresh food. It's demand pull, not supply push. When residents want healthier food, it will arrive

This. Plus I am from a poorer, crime ridden area (not DC) and most local pharmacies will only put one product on the shelf at a time and restock when someone buys the one product. Why? so only one thing gets stolen at a time, instead of a fully stocked shelf.

I would think a small grocery store like an Aldie or something would do well there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Obviously someone who learned to cook from a Guatemalan or Chinese peasant is going to be happier to do things with fresh vegetables than someone who learned to cook from an urban WOHM, which is what black women in the north have historically been.

Women who insist on marrying as a pre-condition of having children, and/or marry men who dutifully support their families generally have a little more time and mental space to cook up something fresh and nutritious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Persistent poverty

I think its a bit more complicated than that. OP you said you went to an exhibit about food justice I would think the exhibit would have answered your question.

Let's start with redlining of the those community which is the systematic process over decades of jamming people, black and brown people into an area with no investment. Grocery stores will then claim they can't make it work financially because of poverty, high rates of theft, etc. . So forget the chain grocery stores - new models of getting healthy food into those areas need to be created as well as creating pathways for increasing consumer demand for healthy foods in those communities. It's not just poverty at play. Not everyone needs a Whole Foods or Traders Joe's. If we are being honest there's lots of foods in both stores that are unhealthy. Farmers markets that allow purchases through WIC are successful, for example.

Some of this stuff is solvable but it takes some creative thinking and commitment.

Demographics need to improve for these stores to survive. Less crime is going to stop thefts otherwise this area would go downhill again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There'd be no persistent poverty in wards 7 & 8 if it weren't subsidized. We pay people not to work, and then take the pay from them if they find a job. This is the appeal of Universal Basic Income - no disincentive to work.

Same story for subsidized housing: get a good job, lose your housing. It's a backdoor handout to the building owner. Same for restrictive zoning practices, protects building owners from competition.

Quite simply, we should have emergency food and shelter available for anyone who needs it, on top of Universal Basic Income and permissive zoning laws, but no housing or needs-based income subsidies.

Those who will work, will work. Those who won't will be priced out into the suburbs and beyond. No concentrated persistent poverty. If it's persistent, it will be diffuse, and will probably be in areas that have more resources.

Demographics of EOTR is improving and there are less blacks folks as it used to be. This might improve the visibility and crime situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There'd be no persistent poverty in wards 7 & 8 if it weren't subsidized. We pay people not to work, and then take the pay from them if they find a job. This is the appeal of Universal Basic Income - no disincentive to work.

Same story for subsidized housing: get a good job, lose your housing. It's a backdoor handout to the building owner. Same for restrictive zoning practices, protects building owners from competition.

Quite simply, we should have emergency food and shelter available for anyone who needs it, on top of Universal Basic Income and permissive zoning laws, but no housing or needs-based income subsidies.

Those who will work, will work. Those who won't will be priced out into the suburbs and beyond. No concentrated persistent poverty. If it's persistent, it will be diffuse, and will probably be in areas that have more resources.

Demographics of EOTR is improving and there are less blacks folks as it used to be. This might improve the visibility and crime situation.

Yep, the 14th St SE Safeway used to be nearly as bad as the 40th St NE one is now - its nickname was "the Unsafeway."

Once enough well heeled white folks moved into the neighborhood they got a shiny new store with a wine cave and dry aged meat counter. The 4oth St NE Safeway is closing down in April 2022, and the entire shopping center is slated for redevelopment beginning in 2023. I imagine once it opens in probably 2025 or so the demographics will have shifted enough that we'll get a shiny new store of our own.

[Anonymous]

Trader Joes can save the day!