Filling the fresh void

Filling the fresh void

http://www.detnews.com/article/20100517/BIZ/5170336/1001/Filling-the-fresh-food-void

develop plans to attract grocers to areas in need of full-service markets

As Metro Detroit activists and business development officials look at options to expand the availability of fresh food outlets in the city, Congress is considering big investments to help make "food deserts" less nutritionally desolate.

Lawmakers in Washington are pushing a program dubbed the Healthy Food Financing Initiative, modeled after one in Pennsylvania, where 88 new groceries, food co-operatives and farmers markets have been supported with government-backed grants and loans. Plans for the national program call for at least $400 million -- and up to $1 billion -- to go toward building and improving stores where access to fresh food is limited.

Community groups, city officials and nutritional experts have tried for years to tackle the problem of a lack of full-service groceries in Detroit, often with little success. Today, Mayor Dave Bing is expected to lead other city and business leaders in announcing a new citywide program that would help establish new grocers and assist existing ones to grow their businesses.

Only a few chains have opened stores within the city limits, but keeping the doors open has proven to be a challenge. That leaves many Detroiters to turn to convenience stores, smaller, locally owned groceries or suburban stores. What's often sacrificed is selection, fresh foods and lower prices.

Several groups have sought a solution to the problem, including the Detroit Economic Growth Corp. and the St. Cecilia-Pontchartrain Community Council, which held a recent meeting of residents, store owners and representatives from the state Department of Agriculture to discuss ways to improve access to fresh foods and grocery stores.

William Carr, the council's chairman, said residents in his west side Detroit neighborhood have been working with store owners to improve the quality and availability of fresh produce and meats and the condition of stores.

"Since the bigger chain stores left the city, we haven't had the same options as the suburbs," Carr said.

"We're trying to work with store owners to make sure there's fresh produce and meats available in a store people want to shop in."
A dearth of healthy food

The community council's concerns likely will reflect the results of a two-year study by the DEGC that is expected to be released today and will build upon an initial report from 2008 as well as earlier research showing Detroit was in dire need of more grocery stores with better selections of fresh foods.

Carr said the prospect of federal subsidies to increase the number of grocery stores could be a boon to a city where large areas for years have had limited access to fresh produce and meats. In 2003, a University of Michigan study showed Detroit could easily support 41 large supermarkets -- which measure more than 40,000 square feet -- but at the time had only five with more than 20,000 square feet, and at least two of those have closed since the study was done.

The push for a federally funded national program to encourage new grocery stores has received significant support from the White House and House Democrats.

In February, the Obama administration said it would like to see $400 million in the 2011 federal budget go toward a program modeled after the one in Pennsylvania. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., along with Democrat Rep. Nydia Velázquez of New York, said she wants to increase that amount to $1 billion.

In unveiling her plan, Gillibrand said federal money, combined with grant and loan funding from private partnerships, would "give people the opportunity to live longer, healthier lives, save billions in health care costs, and create tens of thousands of good-paying jobs."

Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, said after a recent meeting on childhood and family nutrition efforts that she "would absolutely" support any request to bump up the $400 million requested by the White House for a food access initiative.

"This is one of the most important issues facing families, especially in Michigan," Stabenow said. "How can we preach to our kids about good nutrition and healthy eating when there isn't adequate access to the foods they need?"

Aides for a handful of House Democrats said the likelihood the initiative would receive federal funding is good, and the only question is how much.

A House resolution recognizing the value of such a program received co-sponsorship of 40 representatives in December, including Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, D-Detroit, the only Michigan delegation member to sign on.

"We would, of course, be interested in any help that could come and help our efforts here," said Sarah Fleming, program manager for the Fresh Food Access Initiative, a DEGC-led consortium of business and community leaders working to expand the number of grocers in Detroit.
Helping the good get better

Higher costs, financing issues and other problems have made keeping doors open in Detroit more difficult than in the suburbs.

Two newcomers in Detroit closed shortly after opening last year: the upscale gourmet Zaccaro's on Woodward and Downtown Foodland in Lafayette Park. And the Farmer Jack stores closed in 2007.

Yet there have been successes, as well. Meijer, the privately held superstore chain based near Grand Rapids, recently signaled its intention to open its first store in Detroit at Eight Mile and Woodward. And Aldi, a discount wholesale store, has opened several stores in Detroit and Highland Park.

Jamal Abro, owner of Mike's Fresh at Seven Mile and Gratiot, has been doing brisk business at a new location at Seven Mile and Livernois that he renovated after the Farmer Jack closures left Detroit the biggest city in America without a chain grocer.

Other stores, like Mexicantown's Honey Bee Market La Colmena, have thrived, while state-supported programs have expanded access to Eastern Market's vendors for food assistance beneficiaries and helped spur fresh produce delivery services for underserved areas.

Fleming said any successful program wouldn't just target new grocers, but also work to help those in business.

"Some of the issues we're looking at locally include not only looking at expanding access in underserved neighborhoods, but also improving the markets we already have," she said. "That's important because there's already a lot of good stores out there that could be even better."

nhurst@detnews.com (202) 662-8738

From The Detroit News: http://www.detnews.com/article/20100517/BIZ/5170336/1001/Filling-the-fresh-food-void#ixzz0oCTmVsjb