And we need to keep fighting.
As many of you know, I have done research about the unequal distribution of supermarkets in Los Angeles and other U.S. cities. Recently, the biggest news in LA on this front concerns the UK supermarket giant, Tesco. Tesco has promised to build in under-served communities and was welcomed with open arms by elected officials and communities who hoped that perhaps a non-American company could overcome a history of redlining.
But the new Fresh & Easy markets have started to open...in all the same neighborhoods that other major retailers have opened before. The company is now saying the South LA store is 3-5 years out. The company is opening hundreds of new stores, perhaps more than a thousand by the time 3-5 years have passed, and they might have that one store open by then?
So I've been asked, "Isn't it better to get a store in 3-5 years than to not get one at all?" It's one of those questions that requires me to take a deep breath and pause for a minute to keep from answering emotionally. Even now, it's hard for me to articulate why I find that question so offensive. But it seems a fitting think to think about on MLK Day. Where are we as a country that we still think that a group of people who have been systematically discriminated against for decades should sit by and wait patiently for crumbs?
Sunday 'False Narrative' Toons
1 day ago
2 comments:
does compton count as south LA? because it opens on 1/23. there is a norwalk store opening a couple weeks later. and if you look at the map, it's not like LA proper is getting any favorable treatment by f&e. http://www.freshandeasy.com/whereweareMaps.aspx?map=LosAngeles
Soma City—thank you for your comment. Hmm…where to start? It’s a good question, but I could go on for pages, so I’m going to try to keep it brief, but hopefully still answer your question. (I knew I shouldn’t have written about Tesco on my personal blog!) :)
I supposed I should start by saying this isn’t only about Tesco. Supermarket abandonment of certain neighborhoods goes back decades. Mayor Tom Bradley had this discussion with Boys Market back in the 1980’s. In the early 1990’s, it was companies like Vons and Albertsons that were making promises to build in Central and South LA, and yet here we are today, with essentially the same inequitable distribution of supermarket chains. Tesco just happens to be the latest kid on the block.
Is it a good thing they are opening in Compton? Yes, absolutely. Do I think it will provide people in that neighborhood with better access to fresh, healthy, affordable food? Sure. Is there already a Food 4 Less store down the street? Yes. That’s not to say that having a Fresh & Easy and a Food 4 Less close to each other is a bad thing. It’s just that that particular location may not have the greatest need of all of the under-served neighborhoods in Los Angeles. The same can be said for the Glassell Park location—it’s not an area with extremely high poverty rates, but it did lose several major chain grocery stores in recent years, and I know the F&E has been welcomed with open arms by shoppers in that neighborhood.
(Part of the reason it is important to consider poverty rate has to do with transportation. Poor people often do not own cars. So, while residents of Glassell Park may not like having to drive to Eagle Rock or South Pasadena to shop, a majority have that option. In poorer areas, where people rely on public transit to get to the nearest grocery store, it can be difficult. Several grocery stores that are in low-income neighborhoods offer a shuttle service home for transit-dependent shoppers. UEPI (where I work) asked Fresh & Easy if they would consider such a service, and they said no.)
There is no law that says that stores have to locate in areas with high poverty rates and minority populations (but some argue there should be). But Tesco came to the U.S. talking excitedly about “Adams and Central.” Nobody made them say it, but when they did, they got a lot of positive press and attention from elected officials. It seems a bit exploitative to me that the Adams and Central location was what Tesco led with, when in fact, it’s not going to be one of their first stores—or even one of their first 100 stores.
The map you sent me is quite striking in my opinion, in that it clearly demonstrates an avoidance of central, south and east Los Angeles. The group Rebuild LA (that formed after the ‘92 unrest) defined the area of “riot-torn and surrounding low-income communities” as bound by Alameda Avenue to the east, Wilshire Blvd. to the north, Crenshaw Blvd. to the west and El Segundo to the south. You can add East LA to that, and even several blocks out from the 52 square mile area just described, and still—no Fresh & Easy. With the exception of Glassell Park, they have avoided LA proper—you’re right. And it concerns my that this pattern of locating in the outlying areas seems to be continuing.
The video above my post addresses the ridiculous divide between rich and poor in this country. I know that Tesco is a British company, but the CEO has been promised a $20 million+ bonus if he’s successful in the United States. I suppose he has to wait 3-5 years for that bonus, but I hope he opens a few more supermarkets in the neighborhoods that really need them before he collects.
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