Letters to the Editor
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Title of the article
Perhaps I am too literal of a reader, but I was definitely expecting to see jicama mentioned in the article itself. (I just tasted it for the first time recently and it reminded me of a cross between a potato and an apple).But anyway, it would have been interesting to see if any of these food justice groups were looking at integrating "ethnic" organic, locally grown produce in low income neighborhoods.
I think organic, locally grown jicama would be a hit in the Latin American community, and (hopefully) others would be tempted to try it as well.
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The irony is...
Retailers like Whole Foods are loath to venture into some census tracts, and people cite the higher prices as a barrier.
Here's the thing, though: People in isolated 'food deserts' already pay a premium over supermarkets, and the prices for comparable foodstuffs (when you can make a comparison) are more or less what you'd find at a more 'upscale' place--so the upshot is that they're paying through the nose for vastly inferior quality. (The gap gets more stark when one remembers that it's not just the absolute price that determines affordability, but the proportion of income that goes towards purchase.)
Most people in these areas are forced to go to mom 'n pop stores and bodegas, where the prices are, frankly, shocking. They tend to be packaged smaller, so they pay more per pound for basic foodstuffs, expiration dates are dicey, the brands offered tend to be inferior generics, and the selection, what there is of it, is laughable.
As to the article, while it may be true that it can be a challenge buying food that children will actually eat, it's also true that kids are not the main food purchasers--even in lower income households. Ultimately, they eat what's in front of them. The parents I've spoken to in my city, San Diego, would gladly support a good store--or a farmer's market.
It's tougher to feed a good diet in the barrio. But the same HFCS processed dreck is in upscale markets too; someone is buying it. It's not all kasha and keifer and (yes) jicama. The difference is that the higher variety, lower prices (both in actual as well as relative terms) and accessability makes it easier to have some balance.
As to the foods themselves, one debatable 'advantage' to processed foods is that they stick around longer. Too often, even in the most aware families, fresh foods turn into science experiments in the crisper. If you're relatively well off, you can afford to just sigh and throw it into your compost pile; not so for people who watch their pennies.
There's also the time factor. Years ago, as an excercise in simple living, I lived on a poverty level food budget. One, it's damned hard (and I cheated--the budget was for a family of four; at the time there were just two of us), and damned labor-intensive. Even for 'easy' recipies. At the end of it, I had a better understanding of and admiration for those who have to do it daily, instead of the month I dabbled.
We as progressives perhaps need to do a better job of advocating for (and especially with) those we don't see, whom we have the privilege not to see. This is just one aspect of the 'poor tax' that should be front and center in discussions about policy and agenda going forward.
Cities could insist that for every supermarket or upscale market planted in a more affluent area, one has to get planted in an 'impacted' area. Retailers could be held accountable, not just for the small percentage of their profits that go towards 'community service' but for how well they take their responsibility to serve and feed the entire community, not just a carved-out segment. We need to make noise; to talk to the store managers fill out those comment cards, and give this issue the attention it deserves. Everyone deserves good tomatoes.
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Whole Foods
I think you rank on Whole Foods undeservedly: I live dead center in a Dominican neighborhood in upper Manhattan (207th Street)- we often schlep to Whole Foods for the obvious reasons (59th Street) - including their prices - we've compared the price of veggies and fruit to our local C-Town and Whole Foods is very competitive. Their high-end meats are expensive, but no one needs $19 a pound steak to stay healthy. As to the rest of the article, I think the problem is less the availability of fresh foods and more the proliference of fast foods - I see too many people lined up in McDonalds - and lots of them are overweight, if a visual confirmation means anything. I also think a big part of the problem is ignorance: how many times have I seen junk food paid for with food stamps (not that they're stamps anymore)? I see what my neighbors eat and a lot of it is not healthy. We have a green market on Saturday mornings on Isham Street (all locally grown foods) - and the usual (white) suspects are out there buying up the fresh goodies, while many of my Dominican neighbors seem uninterested - if my empirical input is worth a dime.
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Definitely true in my city
I live in Baltimore, near the West Side, and while there is a great farmer's market during the summer on Sundays, there are almost no grocery stores in West Baltimore. For me, it's no trouble to hop in my car and drive to a Safeway or Whole Foods, but that's not true for many car-less residents of poor neighborhoods. It's easy to say poor people shouldn't eat so much fast food, but I think many people take for granted easy access to affordable healthy food--not necessarily organic or farm-raised or whatever, just fresh produce, meat, and dairy products. Rather than dictating that chains have to build stores in lower-income neighborhoods, maybe grants to local food markets to install and maintain refrigeration for these foods would be a start, so that healthy food options are available where people already shop.
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It's better to just eat the better food you can already get
I don't need to buy a $5 Mango from Whole Food if I don't eat fruit and don't have $5. Better I should eat an apple or orange I can get from any fruitstand or grocery store. The problem is not the diversity of white upper middle class approved exotic foods, it's that people don't eat basic good food at more or less any price.
And for the social engineers out there - poor people eat fast food and more expensive deli food because they rarely have the time to spend preparing whole meals. Maybe if poor people didn't have 3 McJobs they'd have the time to prepare good meals. But in the meantime, put down the Hot Pocket and pick up a banana and some low-salt soup. And stop drinking.