KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The concept of the “food desert” has always had a chicken-or-the-egg quality to it.
Do people in poorer neighborhoods have more health problems because there are fewer healthy food choices or are there fewer healthy food
choices because they choose less healthy food?
Often it depends on your politics which side you choose:
- Pro-business: the retailer doesn’t promote healthy food in stores in poor areas because there’s less demand for it, or
- Pro-consumer: the retailer is taking advantage of poorer consumers by selling them less healthy food.
A recent story in my local newspaper looked at the problem of food deserts in Kansas City, and I came away seeing a big bright spot: fresh produce could help solve this problem.
The story in the Kansas City Star is titled– A grocery divide: Why do so many stores east of Troost lack healthy food?
The story reads: “In a review of grocery stores east and west of Troost — the city’s historic racial dividing line — The Star found similar disparities in variety and quality. Most grocers deciding to locate east of Troost and north of 95th Street in Kansas City tend to stock less variety, cheaper quality and less nutritious food than those west of Troost.”
However, it told of a grocery store that bucked the trend.
It described Lipari Bros. Sun Fresh Market at Linwood and Prospect on the East Side as: “Beyond the salad bar, cheery, bright lighting was shining over displays neatly stocked with options rarely seen on the East Side — ripening mangoes and striped plantains, juniper-colored bunches of loose leaf spinach, poblano peppers and tomatillos. On the left, a refrigerator stocked fresh herbs, pre-packaged salads and even the trendy, millennial-favored health drink, kombucha.”
I had to see this for myself, so I visited the store this week during the lunch hour.
Indeed, it was an impressive produce department. The vegetables in the wet rack were high quality, plentiful and fair prices.
The fruit display had all four major berry varieties; more than half dozen apple varieties; three colors of grapes; citrus products from large navels to bags of branded clementines; full tropicals section; and like the story said, a large refrigerator case full of trendy health drinks.
The story quotes store owner John Lipari saying that he listened to the community and what people wanted.
“In the months since the store opened in June, Lipari says he’s found his customers to be even more health-conscious than expected. ‘I’ve got an organic produce department now,’ he says. ‘I didn’t have that before.’”
The store opened in June, so it’s too early to know if it will be a success or lead to a trend.
The lunch hour I visited unfortunately was not busy. You’ll notice in my photos there are no shoppers in the produce department, and it’s not because I asked them to get out of my shot.
However, there was a line at the prepared food counter for people coming in for lunch, and I expect the store’s heaviest time will be like most grocery stores, in the 4-7 pm range.
The newspaper story led the reader to conclude it’s up to retailers to invest in healthier food because all consumers desire it, not just higher income ones.
This one did. Fresh produce is undoubtedly one of the stars of this business proposition, and it’s up to the local community to show its business demand matches up to its wishes.
