Here is a very interesting report from 2007 on the availability of healthy food in Central and East Harlem. The researchers compared the food retail environments in Central and East Harlem with the Upper East Side and found healthy foods are much more readily available on the Upper East Side than in Harlem.
The report ends with three recommendations, one is of particular relevance to the class project : "Encouraging new venues for purchasing healthy foods. Establish neighborhood farmers’ markets, cooperatives, and community-supported agriculture programs."
We have hit on an obvious need for more food retail options in this community - perhaps we should explore the possibility of food co-ops and CSAs as well as a large chain supermarket ?
I think everyone who will read this article will benefit for their project ideas! In my case, this article sharpened my perspectives even more for having more healthy super markets in the harlem community. I mean it quite evident that the option of healthy food in many forms offered with healthy advertising & consumer education in the stores will help tremendously! Bodegas are there, but how much food can they handle to sell due the space capacity?? I liked most of the resolutions set forth in this report, HOWEVER if everyone (like us) went for the easiest choice of just reshaping the existing venues for good purchases; I.e. Bodegas or existing supermarkets, we might not even address the problem to access to food (distances won't. change). So far, I'm in for Whole Foods, 30% discount for neighborhood residents in already existing whole foods retailer and local farmers markets!
ReplyDeleteThanks Hannah for posting this report, it nailed our project so precisely:)
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