Why Opening Grocery Stores Alone Doesn’t Solve Food Deserts
www.propublica.org
The community of Cairo, Illinois, once a food desert, welcomed its new market last year with balloons and cheers. But the store is struggling — exposing problems with the programs set up to help.
  • Kaboom@reddthat.com
    7·
    4 months ago

    1600 people? That’ll support a couple of dollar generals, it won’t support a big supermarket.

    It isn’t a food desert, it’s just rural. Money well fucking spent.

      • Kaboom@reddthat.com
        3·
        3 months ago

        So how much food do you want to waste so you can see a nice shiny super market in the middle of nowhere?

        • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
          17·
          3 months ago

          Enough so that people don’t starve? What a strange question. I’d rather waste food than have children go hungry.

          • Kaboom@reddthat.com
            2·
            3 months ago

            Cool, there’s two dollar generals there already that sell groceries.

            What a supermarket would do is be a vanity project.

            • nexussapphire@lemm.eeEnglish
              10·
              3 months ago

              Cool, dollar general only sells dry goods and not enough of a variety to cover basic food groups. There are no vegetables, proteins, or dairy products unless you include hot pockets.

              Rural American should be able to access more than frozen meals and junk food so stop being a prick. None should suffer from malnutrition and elevated crime rate.

                • nexussapphire@lemm.eeEnglish
                  2·
                  3 months ago

                  Yeah, we have four in my town and none of them sell dairy products. I’ve heard they’ve been pressured to provide healthier options with some success.

            • MrMcGasion@lemmy.world
              3·
              3 months ago

              Ever been to a dollar general that sells groceries? The ones near me frequently sell out of 25-30% of the groceries they offer, and then don’t get restocked for a couple of weeks. And we have traditional grocery stores nearby and a Walmart 10 miles away. I wouldn’t trust DG Market to reliably provide groceries for a community if no other options were available.

    • SeaJ@lemm.ee
      18·
      4 months ago

      1600 people will support a grocery store just fine if the population was stable. The problem is that the town has been losing population since the 1920s. It lost 40% of its population since 2010. No company is going to want to open anything up there considering there will likely be less than 1000 people in less than a decade.

      • Neuromancer@lemm.ee
        6·
        4 months ago

        Cairo is a ghost town. That is where my dad was born when my grandfather was building the bridges. I have always wanted to visit but haven’t made it yet

        • MintyFresh@lemmy.world
          2·
          3 months ago

          It’s a pleasant enough little town, but low laying. I used to truck and went there a few times. But you get the feeling there’s an imminent flood coming. Just due to geography I wouldn’t want to own anything that isn’t a railroad bridge there.

  • FarFarAway@startrek.websiteEnglish
    6·
    3 months ago

    I kinda think it would have been a better investment if they created some sort of local farm, of some kind.

    It doesn’t help with name brand products, but it would give the community fresh food, some employment, and some extra revenue. Dry goods and other products are deliverable, and much of it is not required for survival. I mean we are talking food deserts.

    They could experiment with which farming techniques would be better suited to carry us into out changing climate. Maybe become a model for other farms to follow.