randymatt
21st April 2010, 08:45 AM
Community Protests Kroger Closing
By Peggy O'Farrell • pofarrell@enquirer.com • April 19, 2010
Kroger's decision to close its Roselawn store could hurt residents' health over the long haul, some community activists argue.
Those activists, including the Center for Closing the Health Gap and the Southern Christian Leadership Council Fred Shuttlesworth Chapter, are organizing an April 29 community meeting about the store closing and the issue of "food deserts" in Cincinnati. The meeting will start at 6 p.m. with a tentative location of Woodward High Career Technical High School, 7005 Reading Road, Roselawn.
Kroger announced Friday that the Hillcrest Shopping Center store will close Sunday, leaving Roselawn without a supermarket. Company officials blamed a loss of more than $1 million last year at that store, and an eroding customer base.
But Dwight Tillery, CEO of the Center for Closing the Health Gap in Avondale, said profit shouldn't be the only issue when basic services are at stake.
"What we're looking at here is a pattern of major grocers are abandoning the inner city neighborhoods which happen to be primarily minority people and poor people and elderly people," Tillery said. "This has to be more than, 'We're not meeting our bottom line,' because food, like water, is essential to the health and wellbeing of our residents. You're losing something that is very critical to people's survival."
Obesity and related health problems are higher in neighborhoods where people don't have access to fresh fruits and vegetables, Tillery said.
Tillery cited research showing that African-American neighborhoods are less likely to have supermarkets than white neighborhoods, and the convenience stores that serve those neighborhoods charge higher prices for less nutritious food.
Rachael Betzler, a spokeswoman for Kroger, said the company will offer free bus tokens for customers of the Roselawn store who switch to their nearby Norwood or Hartwell stores.
She cited the store's profit loss, as well as company data showing that 75 percent of customers at the Hillcrest store have already started shopping at other Kroger stores.
But not everyone can get to a bus, said Patricia Milton, president of the Avondale Community Center, and it's not easy to bags and bags of groceries on the bus itself or carry them home from the bus stop.
"Do you know how difficult it is to bring home enough groceries for a family on the bus?" Milton asked. "It's not a good thing."
Avondale, a neighborhood of about 16,000 which borders Roselawn, doesn't have a supermarket. "It means no options or very few options for healthy foods," Milton said.
Asked if Kroger would send a representative to the community meeting, Betzler said she'd just learned of it, and added, "We haven't been invited."
Cincinnati Councilman Cecil Thomas wants to hear from residents at the April 29 meeting. He also plans to bring up the food desert issue before the council's Quality of Life Committee.
He and Edith Thrower, of the Southern Christian Leadership Council (SCLC) Fred Shuttlesworth Chapter, also want to explore options for bringing another grocery store to Roselawn.
Thrower said her first choice would be to appeal to Kroger to keep the store open.
But, she added, "I'm all for self-empowerment. There are other options. Maybe we can open our own grocery store."
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20100419/NEWS01/4200358/1055/NEWS/Community+protests+Kroger+closing
By Peggy O'Farrell • pofarrell@enquirer.com • April 19, 2010
Kroger's decision to close its Roselawn store could hurt residents' health over the long haul, some community activists argue.
Those activists, including the Center for Closing the Health Gap and the Southern Christian Leadership Council Fred Shuttlesworth Chapter, are organizing an April 29 community meeting about the store closing and the issue of "food deserts" in Cincinnati. The meeting will start at 6 p.m. with a tentative location of Woodward High Career Technical High School, 7005 Reading Road, Roselawn.
Kroger announced Friday that the Hillcrest Shopping Center store will close Sunday, leaving Roselawn without a supermarket. Company officials blamed a loss of more than $1 million last year at that store, and an eroding customer base.
But Dwight Tillery, CEO of the Center for Closing the Health Gap in Avondale, said profit shouldn't be the only issue when basic services are at stake.
"What we're looking at here is a pattern of major grocers are abandoning the inner city neighborhoods which happen to be primarily minority people and poor people and elderly people," Tillery said. "This has to be more than, 'We're not meeting our bottom line,' because food, like water, is essential to the health and wellbeing of our residents. You're losing something that is very critical to people's survival."
Obesity and related health problems are higher in neighborhoods where people don't have access to fresh fruits and vegetables, Tillery said.
Tillery cited research showing that African-American neighborhoods are less likely to have supermarkets than white neighborhoods, and the convenience stores that serve those neighborhoods charge higher prices for less nutritious food.
Rachael Betzler, a spokeswoman for Kroger, said the company will offer free bus tokens for customers of the Roselawn store who switch to their nearby Norwood or Hartwell stores.
She cited the store's profit loss, as well as company data showing that 75 percent of customers at the Hillcrest store have already started shopping at other Kroger stores.
But not everyone can get to a bus, said Patricia Milton, president of the Avondale Community Center, and it's not easy to bags and bags of groceries on the bus itself or carry them home from the bus stop.
"Do you know how difficult it is to bring home enough groceries for a family on the bus?" Milton asked. "It's not a good thing."
Avondale, a neighborhood of about 16,000 which borders Roselawn, doesn't have a supermarket. "It means no options or very few options for healthy foods," Milton said.
Asked if Kroger would send a representative to the community meeting, Betzler said she'd just learned of it, and added, "We haven't been invited."
Cincinnati Councilman Cecil Thomas wants to hear from residents at the April 29 meeting. He also plans to bring up the food desert issue before the council's Quality of Life Committee.
He and Edith Thrower, of the Southern Christian Leadership Council (SCLC) Fred Shuttlesworth Chapter, also want to explore options for bringing another grocery store to Roselawn.
Thrower said her first choice would be to appeal to Kroger to keep the store open.
But, she added, "I'm all for self-empowerment. There are other options. Maybe we can open our own grocery store."
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20100419/NEWS01/4200358/1055/NEWS/Community+protests+Kroger+closing