Leading Grocery Retailers Commit to Fight Childhood Obesity by Increasing Access to Healthy, Afforda

Leading Grocery Retailers Commit to Fight Childhood Obesity by Increasing Access to Healthy, Affordable Food for 10 Million Americans

www.marketwatch.com

Brown's Super Stores, Calhoun Enterprises, Klein's Family Markets, SUPERVALU, Walgreens and Walmart have committed to open or expand over 1,500 locations combined over the next five years in low-income areas that lack stores likely to sell affordable and nutritious foods. The California Endowment, through their FreshWorksFund, has pledged to make $200 million in financing available to new, independent retail channels and innovative food distribution programs in California through financing and grants.

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Very interesting.

I'm glad to see that people living in low-income areas will be able to afford nutritious foods. Having worked closely with food banks, I know what it is like to be a low-income earner and not be able to afford fresh produce. There was also issues with low-income earners in my area even being able to afford transportation to these food stores, so they opted to nick the bus fare and walk to the closest convenience store to purchase a bag of chips simply because it was cheap and easier.

At the same time, corporations like WalMart have been under scrutiny before for driving out mom-and-pop stores out of areas, and I wonder if this could cause more problems for families who work around these stores.

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Although, I am leaning towards this being a deal struck by Monsanto.

One way or another, they are going to sneak that in the door.

Access to nutritional foods is only part of the problem. After you make it available, then you must educate the poor that proper foods are necessary for good health... otherwise, you can sell cheap apples and carrots all you want, the iggnorant will go for the MickeyDs Value Menu everytime.

Sit down in a fast food outlet at a Walmart... and just watch people, or wander the produce area of a Walmart on a Friday or Saturday and just watch people. I say Walmart because they tend to attract a high number of low income people with their pricing points and selection. Just casually observe what people buy.

I just returned from Tizimin, Mexico on a mission trip in an effort to aide the poor of the Yucatan Penninsula. Although bottled water is available everywhere and is safe and easy to buy and consume....the big seller down there...Coca Cola. Everywhere there is Coke...the tred and white logos plaster every store front, their logos are on furniture and tables and chairs everywhere....almost like a political campaign, they have embedded their product into the popular psche.

It was easy to see the long term effects of a preponderance of Coke in the local diet.... beautiful healthy small children were turning into obese teens and adults with bad teeth. Fresh fruit is free for the picking literally... huaya, lemons, oranges, avocadoes dot the yards and side streets of the area... but if i saw one child coming from the store carrying a bottle of Coke for the family, I saw hundreds. Upon visiting some of the villages, peple that had little and slept in hammocks over dirt floors...drank Coke.

I like Coke too, but not every meal and inbetween every day....

My point is...true iggnorance is not knowing any better...a lack of education. And all the cheap nutritious foods will not sell well to an iggnorant consumer when they don't realize what will happen to them 2-5 years down the road eating dollar cheese burgers and dollar fries everyday.... but look at those that do by age 30 or so. Many are diabetic, overweight, suffer numerous ailments, bad hearts, high blood pressure, etc.

Thus the old addage ..."you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink."

You can offer people affordable fruits and veggies, but you can't make them eat.