America’s First Lady Teams with Grocers to Provide Access to Healthy Food

 

Some of the biggest names among retail grocers have joined with first lady Michelle Obama in her campaign to provide fresh produce and nutritious foods to America’s “food deserts” in order to allow impoverished areas access to healthy fare, as a part of her signature effort to combat childhood obesity.

A “food desert” is defined by the Department of Agriculture as a Census tract where the lesser amount of 33 percent or 500 people reside more than one mile from a grocery store in an urban area, or at a distance of more than 10 miles in a rural area. Melody Barnes, director of the Domestic Policy Council, noted, “We know from the research that when people live in communities that have greater access to supermarkets, they consume more foods like fresh fruits and vegetables.”

According to Barnes, the campaign will ultimately service about 9.5 million of the 23.5 million Americans(including 6.5 million children) now living in low-income areas that currently have a shortage of grocers who sell foods that are nutritious and affordable.The new stores are expected to create more than 46,000 jobs across the country.

Several of the nation’s blockbuster chains, including Walmart, Walgreens and SuperValu, as well as a number of regional retailers, have committed to bring in excess of 1,500 stores to less fortunate neighborhoods and provide fresh and nutritious and fresh foods poorer communities.

Walmart, the nation’s largest retail grocer, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, expects to have opened between 275 to 300 food desert stores by the year 2016. The company’s expansion is part of its plan to promote eating healthier for lower prices. The savings will apply to such premium products as whole wheat pasta.

In addition, the plan includes support for charities. The well-known retailer has already opened 218 amidst low-income neighborhoods since beginning the project in 2007, according to Leslie Dach, executive vice president of corporate affairs for the company. 

Walgreens, America’s largest drugstore chain, will be expanding food products in at least 1,000 stores to include fresh produce, pre-packaged salads, sandwiches, and foods that are partially prepared for easy cooking at home.
Company spokesperson, Tiffani Washington says that the Chicago-based retailer has already put their project into motion in their home city, as well as in California at San Francisco locations. CEO Greg Wasson said that greater than 45 percent of existing Walgreen stores are located in areas that don’t have easy access to fresh food.
Retail grocer SuperValu has also committed to building 250 Save-A-Lot stores over the next five years among areas having little to no access to fresh food, and expects the project to generate 6,000 jobs. Chief Executive Craig Herkert said that Supervalu already operates about 400 stores in areas that may be considered food deserts, including five that were recently opened on the south side of Chicago.
In addition, regional supermarkets such as Brown’s Super Stores in Philadelphia, and Calhoun Foods in Alabama and Tennessee plan to expand food products to assist in the joint effort of the campaign to improve access to healthy foods.
Just last month, the first lady assisted the Agriculture Department in revamping the food pyramid into a chart called MyPlate, which left out desserts. During a news conference at the White House, Obama noted, “The commitments that you all are making today have the potential to be a game changer for our kids and for our communities all across this country.”