Fresh Food Financing Initiative

[phantom power]

In addition to being a good program, it lays the foundation for providing the fresh jellyfish supply chains that will be absolutely crucial to the New Urbanism of the late 21st century.

An innovative effort to bring supermarkets and fresh food to poor neighborhoods has been so successful, it has spawned imitators elsewhere and earned its creators a visit to the White House.

...

Called the Fresh Food Financing Initiative, the program has combined state funding with private money and the expertise of two Philly-based nonprofit entities to develop more than 60 food markets in under-served communities across Pennsylvania.

...

The program was aimed at addressing two related developments: the disappearance of supermarkets from struggling communities and the inner city, and studies showing a host of health problems among the poor related to too much soda, chips, and fast food and not enough fresh anything within shopping distance.

"When I was growing up in North Philadelphia, there was a Best Market right there on Columbia Avenue," Evans said. "I moved to Germantown, and there was a Penn Fruit. All those supermarkets have basically disappeared in these communities."

The flight of supermarkets from cities began in the 1960s, when large chains began pulling up stakes to build megastores in suburbs. It accelerated in the '70s and '80s as mergers and acquisitions reduced the number of food retailers.

http://www.philly.com/philly/business/48402922.html

[tech3149]

1. I applaude the efforts

Having spent most of the last twenty years in northern NJ, I know too well that poor neighborhoods rely on local bodegas to supply food, or fast food restaurants. The alternative is three hours on the bus to get to a supermarket and home again. Even then, the choices aren't that great. I'd love to see community farms every 5 or 6 blocks that sold to make a modest profit and paid the participants with free food. Considering the amount of vacant property, it shouldn't be that hard to do. I have no problem with a capitalist model but the bodegas charge about twice what you'd pay at a supermarket and when you factor in transportation cost and time, I can understand why people choose the most economical path even if it's not the most healthy.

Since I moved back to PA, I spend most of my money at local markets that are an integral part of the local economy. Beyond having the money stay local, I can see how the suppliers do their business and have some influence to assure that they operate in the interest of the customer. I wouldn't have that same influence if the vendor was a thousand miles away.