The New York Times seems to think so. Indeed, many grocery stores in urban areas are closing up shop, and all that's left is a big open lot and a smattering of mom and pop convenience stores left in their wake. But despite the name, convenience stores aren't always, well, that convenient, especially when you're in need of fresh fruit and veggies, low-fat snacks and fresh poultry or seafood. A study by New York's Department of City Planning estimated that over 750,000 New Yorkers live five blocks or more from a supermarket. And when that's the case, most people opt to drive or cab it to the store, especially if they have lots of shopping to do or little ones in tow. And at the end of a long work day, many people just don't have the energy - or the time - to stroll down to the grocery. (The study also found that there is enough need for 100 additional supermarkets across the city).
So what's a hungry person to do? Most people simply go without fresh produce and other things that are carried by larger supermarkets. Others are currently shopping at a store, but worry about it closing, because the only other option is miles away.
What about you? Did you or someone you know ever have trouble getting to a decent grocery store, especially if you live in a populated urban area?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-07-2008 @ 11:33AM
Baron said...
Living in a much less populated metro than most other metro people are probably used to, we have a different situation here. We have a few specialty stores in the area, but I can make a mile trip to our Kroger and get a bigger selection of cheeses and meats than those stores even offer (for less too). 10 miles to the Wal-Mart (and here, 10 miles means 10 minutes) for when we need to really stock up on good for cheap. The locally owned stores are all in about a mile of us too. I try to shop there when I'm looking for mainly fruit or bread. I guess, the point I'm making here is that, in our area, I vary where I shop based on what I'm needing to get and, even if I drive the 10 minutes to Wal-Mart, the savings are so substantial (usually about 50 less dollars per trip), it is worth it.
Now, to also comment on where I grew up, we had about 7,000 people in our town. The nearest Wal-Mart was over an hour away. We had two grocery stores in town. A United that was always (and still is) a United and another store that went through about 4 changes that I can think of. I'm not really sure why we need two stores actually, but they both stay fairly busy. I am always impressed when I go back home because the United has a pretty great selection for such a small town.
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5-07-2008 @ 11:36AM
Ellen Slattery said...
Interesting - thanks for the feedback, Baron.
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5-08-2008 @ 11:11PM
JMForester said...
Ellen- As an ex-NY'r the above is accurate, even conservative. It can be difficult to find a grocery store and when you find one they tend to be on the small side with limited selection. That's ok if you live in an affluent part of NYC where lots of small food stores are within easy reach so you can shop in the European fashion and go buy bread in one store, produce in another, etc. But in most of NY you just have the small bodegas and such with a small selection. Spread throughout the city are a few mega supermarkets. Folks have to take a taxi each way to do a weeks grocery shopping. It's expensive, especially on the home trip when you pay for the taxi to sit and wait while you take your bags of groceries upstairs a few at a time.
To take what Baron said above a step further.
Where I live right now in semi-rural Maine I am within easy reach of a very good supermarket, a weekly farmers market, and several gourmet stores. But this is the county seat, although the town urban population is around 8,000 full and part-time residents.
Next month I am moving to a tiny, rural town to be close to my winery/distillery because of the increase in the price of gas. (rural population apx 3,000 and thats the township of 37 sq. miles, the actual 'town' urban population is only a few hundred) It not only doesn't have a supermarket, but only a gas station convenience store. That is all that is available within several towns distance and I will have to drive a half hour to the nearest real supermarket. So it's not just the urban areas with a grocery problem, but rural as well. In some parts of the state you may have to drive 40-60 minutes OR MORE to a supermarket.
Jonathan Forester
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