Originally Posted by donnamb
I'd have a lot more respect for some of those big box retailers if they would actually open a supermarket inside the Detroit, MI city limits. Meijer won't do it, and neither will Wal-Mart. There are exactly 2, small Farmer Jack grocery stores and I think possibly one Kroger in the city. That's it for 900,000 people. In contrast, the city I live in now has a bit under 540,000 people within the city limits, and I can't even begin to count how many supermarkets there are. I'm sure some of you in rural areas can understand how difficult it would be to live that way. Unbelievable.
You are so right! I'm so glad that you brought this up, donnmb.
If you're carfree (and many are) in a big inner city like Detroit, it's almost impossible to purchase fresh produce or any other nutritious food, at any price--let alone at a price you can afford. This is a major public health problem in the USA. The rates of diabetes have skyrocketed in these "food deserts," but diabetics can't find the foods they should be eating, especially fresh produce, lean meats and fish, and low fat dairy. Their only option is to buy fast food, or overpriced convenience food in a gas station or party store. (Rite-Aid is one of the few big box chains that locates in the inner city, but they don't carry much food.)
I don't know what the solution is. Some neighborhoods carpool to the suburbs to shop at Meijer stores, or I imagine, at Walmarts. A local nutrition activist who lives in a "food desert" here in Lansing persuaded a local convenience store to start carrying fresh produce. She actually volunteers her time to display the store's produce attractively, and she provides nutrition and cooking tips to those who want it.
Given how serious this problem is, I wonder if it would really be so terrible if Walmart, or any other chain, came into inner city food deserts and opened some small stores.