'Power to communities': Chicago considers city-owned grocery store to address 'food deserts' after giants like Walmart and Whole Foods shutter stores

stopthatgirl7@kbin.social to News@lemmy.world – 619 points –
'Power to communities': Chicago considers city-owned grocery store to address 'food deserts' after giants like Walmart and Whole Foods shutter stores
finance.yahoo.com

The mayor’s office says it would be the first major U.S. city to enact such a plan.

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And I guess the people who can't afford a car should just die, right?

Bus, walk, bike, if you cannot affort a car you're likely not working enough so you have the time to use alternative modes of transport.

Where are you supposed to bike to when the nearest supermarket is 20 miles away?

And poor people often work 2 or 3 jobs. Again, you know nothing about being poor.

Unless you live in bumfuck arkanses the next supermarket is not 20 miles away, and even then it likely isn't.

Poor people work so many jobs that I see them sitting on their porch at 1pm on a fucking Tuesday.

Ah, and there we go. Classism. Must be nice to be rich.

Ah, yes. Me working hard to be where I am and seeing others do nothing and complain about being poor is classism. I'm not rich, I'm just not a fucking bum.

Ah, so now people who don't work are all bums. No, you're totally not a classist.

People that do not work while being able to work are bums, yes. That is how that works. Sounds like you're a fucking bum too tbh.

How do you know they are able to work by just seeing them on their porch? I'm semi-disabled. No one would be able to tell unless I told them. I work, but I was unable to for 3 years until I got my medication sorted and a job that was liberal about me taking sick days. Was I a bum for three years? Should I have worked while screaming in agonizing pain?

You weren't unable to work, you were just unable to do work that you felt was good enough for you. You could've taken a call centre job and worked from home, you could've attempted something like drop shipping which has nearly no initial costs, you could've done a million things right there from your bedroom and you did nothing and called yourself "semi-disabled". You're either disabled, or you're not. So yeah, you were a bum for three years.

I literally screamed in pain every 20 minutes. I have trigeminal neuralgia, the suicide disease. It's called that because most people kill themselves rather than handle it. I'm sure a call center job would have worked really well if I screamed at the customer. Thankfully, that has been solved and I'm only in severe pain all the time now instead of severe to agonizing every 20 minutes. You have no idea what I go through. You are being fucking offensive.

Or the normal name, fothergill's disease. Very painful indeed, ay but maybe starting out with that would've been better than claiming semi-disabled, because that's a bullshit term. You have Fothergill disease, you're disabled.

You misunderstand, I simply don't care what you go through, and I don't care about offending you in the slightest. We're on the internet, we're nothing to eachother and will likely never interact again after this. Sure, it sucks for you, but it has exactly 0 impact on my life.

No one calls it Fothergill’s disease. Not a single medical professional has ever said that to me. That's not a "normal name" that I have heard anyone use in any context outside people like you who find it on internet searches.

And no, when I said semi-disabled, I meant it. I am able to work and receive disability to make up for the lost time when I can't.

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Or, like, get on a bus. Or walk. Or cycle. Or get food delivered from any one of many cheap delivery options. Or even a food bank or church. Or neighbour. Or family. Or friends. You think people without a car who don’t have a supermarket next door just die? I can’t even imagine the level of learned helplessness you seem to possess.

Buses take money. And walk where? Bicycle where? You think they could just walk to the nearest supermarket? Do you not understand that there isn't food available for miles? Do you really not understand what the term 'food desert' means?

And delivered? Do you really not understand what being poor means?

Buses take money.

So does food from the supermarket. That’s why we give poor people money. We should, IMHO, give them even more. Either way, with that money, they get on the bus.

Half of the world’s population walk miles for food and water. That’s certainly not a big ask on a bicycle. I commute six miles each way to work on a bike, every day. For millennia, humans roamed hundreds of miles on foot hunting for game. Yet you’re arguing someone today can’t cycle a few miles?? Lordy.

Delivery is often cheaper than the time and commute, so I’m not sure what you’re arguing there. Amazon offers free delivery, and you can buy every staple you need.

Half of the world’s population walk miles for food and water. That’s certainly not a big ask on a bicycle.

Wow. You're actually asking poor Americans to live like they're in third-world countries? I thought America was the richest nation?

And food delivery is not cheap. That's just a lie.

Wow. You’re actually asking poor Americans to live like they’re in third-world countries? I thought America was the richest nation?

That’s some spicy classism. Walking and cycling isn’t the domain of the unwashed masses. It’s a clean, healthy source of transport which more cities should encourage. Furthermore, should one choose to use the less healthy and polluting forms of transport, they can: the bus. Using the money they are given for not working at all. They don’t get that in developing nations.

And food delivery is not cheap. That’s just a lie.

Amazon.com. Free delivery. Try it out.

Expecting people to walk for miles to get water is expecting them to live like a third-world country. And yes, you did say water.

And you have to pay for Prime for "free" delivery. Which poor people can't afford.

I don’t expect them to walk miles for water. I expect them to take a bus for food. I don’t think you are reading what I’m writing.

And you have to pay for Prime for “free” delivery. Which poor people can’t afford.

No you don’t. Prime offers free fast shipping. There’s still free shipping on millions of products without Prime. It just won’t come the same/next day.

You literally wrote:

Half of the world’s population walk miles for food and water. That’s certainly not a big ask on a bicycle.

So my apologies, you expect them to bike for miles for water. In the world's richest country.

You think Prime is free?! Or did you forget people have to pay for that?

Here was you response to me prior to you deleteing it:

You cannot use SNAP for bus fare. You also cannot get delivery using SNAP

This is a good argument for giving people money, not food stamps.

You’re asking people, in America a supposedly developed nation, to do the same things people in developing nations have to do to get food.

I don’t get this revulsion to walking. Most people walk every day for commutes, food, and errands. Walking does not mean your life is irredeemably terrible. In fact, data shows you will live longer and be happier. Ditto for cycling.

You live in a little town far away from civilisation. I think it’s unreasonable to expect city amenities in such places. There’s no logistical way to get supermarkets close to every home. Not when people have built homes so far away from everyone else.

And my response: No one is asking for supermarkets near their home. But a grocery store that’s reasonably priced is well within the realm of possible. You’re literally blaming people for where they live, even though they can’t afford to move. These aren’t new builds. These are generational homes. The people who built them are long dead and their grandkids or great grandkids now live in the same house because they are too poor to live elsewhere. My town has a pop of over 10k. It’s reasonable to expect a grocery store or 3, or even a supermarket, to be there. And I’ve explained in another comment why there isn’t. No one is against walking, but as I said in my other comment to you, I’d have to bike over 2hrs to the nearest grocery store, walking? It’d take me 8hrs. It is not reasonable to expect anyone to walk 8hrs to the nearest grocery store. (And yes, I Google mapped it so I’m not just talking out my ass.) I’m honestly just so flabbergasted that people blame others for where they live like they have a choice when they can’t even afford a car.

The part about not being able to use SNAP for delivery isn't even true. I'm on food stamps; I can get delivery from Walmart, Instacart, most local grocers and more. As long as I'm only getting food stamp eligible items, I don't have to use any real cash.

Has to depend on state then, even though I know it’s a federal subsidy, because I’m also on food stamps and cannot order delivery. Not when I lived in the city, and not now in the town I live in.

You cannot use SNAP for bus fare. You also cannot get delivery using SNAP, besides Amazon, and you have to have a Whole Foods near you. The closest one for me, as an example, is in another state 3hrs away. So Amazon won’t deliver to me. There’s actually no bud where I live, so that’s out. And I just looked it up, it’d take me over 2hrs to bike to the nearest grocery store, and I’d have to do it on a highway. Oh and on top of that, I’d have to bring my toddlers.

Your points are great, if you live in a city. But most food deserts are in smaller rural towns. You’re asking people, in America a supposedly developed nation, to do the same things people in developing nations have to do to get food. It’s kinda ass backwards don’t ya think? That the “richest” nation is telling their population to live like some of the poorest nations.

You cannot use SNAP for bus fare. You also cannot get delivery using SNAP

This is a good argument for giving people money, not food stamps.

You’re asking people, in America a supposedly developed nation, to do the same things people in developing nations have to do to get food.

I don’t get this revulsion to walking. Most people walk every day for commutes, food, and errands. Walking does not mean your life is irredeemably terrible. In fact, data shows you will live longer and be happier. Ditto for cycling.

You live in a little town far away from civilisation. I think it’s unreasonable to expect city amenities in such places. There’s no logistical way to get supermarkets close to every home. Not when people have built homes so far away from everyone else.

If you're in favor of programs like helping people pay for food why are you so opposed to the city opening a grocery store?

Bused are cheap, walk to a store, bicycle to a store, I bike 12km to and from every day. But you're conveniently ignoring every other argument the lad above made, so that shows your victim mentality.

You think poor people can afford get food delivered. You think a supermarket is within walking distance. You have no idea what being poor means or what a food desert is. People can be 20 miles from the nearest place to buy food in rural small towns. All they can do is buy junk food at the Dollar General and survive on that.

Poor doesn't mean you can afford luxuries. Food desert doesn't mean you can walk to a supermarket.

I didn't say poor people can afford to have food delivered, you can't even read who you're talking to lmfao. Btw, eating just junk food is expensive...

Sorry, that was another person I was talking to. And yes, junk food is expensive. Too bad it can be literally the only option sometimes. But I guess those people are too poor to matter.

You live in fucking America, junk food is not your only option.

Again, if you live in "fucking America" and the nearest supermarket is 10 miles away and you work 3 jobs and have no good access to transportation, it sure as hell is your only option.

"The distance to the nearest supermarket or supercenter for the average U.S. household was 2.14 miles and that average household primarily shopped at a store 3.79 miles from home.3 aug 2015"

"The researchers found that in 2015, the median distance to the nearest food store for the overall U.S. population was 0.9 miles, with 40 percent of the U.S. population living more than 1 mile from a food store. The median distance to the third-nearest food store for the overall population was 1.7 miles.3 jun 2019 https://www.ers.usda.gov"

" 'far' is defined as more than one mile for urban locations and more than 10 miles in rural spots."

Not having access to food is quite rare for the average American, most of the ones there are are in bumfuck nowhere.

average

median

Do you not know what those things mean?

quite rare for the average American

Oh, well then let's let the rare ones starve to death. They're "bums" anyway.

Good idea, survival of the fittest existed for a reason. Maybe stop pretending like anyone in America is starving to death.

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I am begging you to actually read up on food deserts.

I'm not begging you for shit, I'd advise you to get out of the victim mentality though.

You have no idea what a food desert is like, and seem to think everyone can afford to just catch a bus across town or pay for Amazon Prime for free delivery (and oh the irony, screeching about “crime” then expecting people working multiple jobs to just get delivery, like those wouldn’t get stolen in your crime world - guess those all those criminals running rampant through grocery stores would leave packages sitting by a doorstep be, eh? 🙄)

You just made up a completely imaginary issue to combat an argument. Done with you, have a good day lmao.

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Or .. walk to the nearby city owned grocery store that the city is considering opening?

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