[2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten]

Didn't they have govt. run stores in the USSR? OK their shelves were empty but at least they didn't sell junk food, right?

[Arm_Bears]

ECON 101: No one can create a market where one does not exist naturally—Not even the government.

[cripplecreek]

A lot of retailers moved out of Detroit because they couldn’t make enough money to make up for losses to theft.

[snoringbear]

“”All the grocery stores have left”

Gee, wonder why all the grocery stores have left... maybe if the residents would stop fouling their own nests, then businesses would return. After all, supply always follows demand, if supply isn’t afraid of being robbed and/or murdered...

[2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten]

So now we get a glimpse of where Moochelle’s “Eat Healthy” initiative is headed - just like school lunches became “school breakfasts” all “for the children” - we’re going to have the gubbermint stepping in to provide a teat to suckle on for the “food desert” inhabitants.

[G Larry]

Hmmm.....if they managed both ends of the equation......???

Food stamps can only be used at government run food stores.......

[wendy1946]

Those who live along Angier Avenue in east Durham can buy food, but most of it is not very healthy.

I learned as much as I need to know about Durham NC in 06-08 with that Duke LAX case. The people of Durham don't DESERVE to be eating healthy food, they deserve to be eating rat poison.

[Popman]

Funny, evil greedy Wally World wants to build stores in the inner city but union thugs and moronic political dims keep stopping them

[pnh102]

Good grief how did people ever get by without government-run health food stores.

[Tai_Chung]

“All the grocery stores have left...”

Instead of opening a government store, they should ask why the stores left and then create conditions to allow the stores to return. Without knowing the area, I can speculate on a few reasons.

1. High Crime
2. Obama Economy
3. Liberal Taxes
4. Anti-Business environment
5. Heavily Democratic area

If they want real change, they should refuse another government handout (grocery store) and vote conservatives into office. Let churches and private charities fill the gaps during the transition period.

[Popman]

Read the article and don’t see where “government” is running grocery stores

[ladyvet]

What a waste. Teaching them to cook healthy? WTF?! Can't they get a cookbook and follow the directions? I go to Wal-Mart, plenty of fresh fruits and veggies. That is NOT what I see in most food stamp carts.

[Texas Eagle]

Just for kicks, I did a little Bing search for grocery stores near Angier Avenue in Durham, N.C.

There are at least 80 grocery stores including supermarkets, whole food stores, and produce outlets.

[gunnyg]

Once proud and free Americans can now solely claim only a superior tolerance for obediently taking crap...

[Popman]

In the article there is a link for food deserts

I checked it out and looked at my area.

At least in my area there may be area's that don't have "chain grocery stores" but they are independent grocery stores in the area.

Not C-Store but real grocery stores with fresh fruit, fresh meats and real groceries

I'm sure there are area's that this is a serious problem, but with everything government it's overstated to generate money

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

Don’t get too wound up about this. Variations on this scheme have been around since the Great Depression, in a multitude of forms.

The first major program was to require Home Economics for all girls in high school. At its height, it was spectacularly successful, saving future families thousands or tens of thousands of dollars while significantly improving their quality of life.

But when Home Ec was mostly discontinued, the decline in home management knowledge and children’s nutrition was rapid. Soon there was a need for elementary schools to start providing free breakfasts as well as lunch, so they would at least get some vitamins.

Will this latest effort help? Marginally, at best. People raised to eat only rice and beans, or pizza and beer, or grits and grease, or whatever, are difficult to convince that eating something else might be good, too.

[cripplecreek]

Geeze O petes, did you take a look at the food desert locator?

http://www.ers.usda.gov/data/fooddesert/fooddesert.html

Huge tracts of unpopulated country are classified as food deserts. Just maybe those areas don’t have grocery stores because nobody lives there.

In my county they show the city of Jackson Michigan as a food desert despite 2 Meijer stores, a Walmart, Sam’s club, Aldi’s, Gordon Food service, multiple Kroger stores, 2 Save A Lot stores, and probably a half dozen more I can’t remember.

[webstersII]

People that live there won’t buy healthy food anyway.

And education about healthy food won’t change anything for those people.

[Dr. Sivana]

In Rockford Illinois, on South Main street, there was one a small, junky, but thriving Latino mini-supermarket. The city wanted to gentrify the area because of its proximity to the Rock River.

The owner was pressured to accept something in the neighborhood of $106,000 to give up his store, whih he accepted.

The IGA-affiliated Gray's Foods accepted a big subsidy to put up a full-sized, brand new supermarket. It was clean, it was bright, it had good selection, lots of parking. It was empty of customers. That lasted only two to three years. Next the brand new store was taken over by Latinos who should know how to market to the locals. They probably got the property (or lease to it) inexpensively. It did better, and a Family Dollar moved in next to it, but after three or four years, it too failed.

Now, the heavily subsidized building, up the street from the brand new empty condos with the rover view, sits empty, with the family dollar having to do as a local grocery store. It would have been better for the taxpayers, and especially the people in the neighborhood, if their little store was just left alone.

This farce happened simply with government using the threat of eminent domain and subsidies as levers. Imagine how bad it will be if it is a federal store owning (or funding) the stores outright.

[CPOSharky]

The federal government calls places like this "food deserts."

The first wookie said this a few months ago and now it is a "federal government" pronouncment?

Anyone who states this food desert BS thinks anyone who believes it is stupid.

Anyone who believes this food desert BS deserves to starve.

[Bryanw92]

If the govt-run food store opens in food stamp country, they can stock their shelves with all the healthy food they want, but no one’s going to take it.

Then, the complaints of racism will go up because the “gummint sto” doesn’t have the convenience foods that “white peoples sto” has. Then, Uncle Sugar will fill its store with convenience food and they’ll be right back where they are now, except that the taxpayer will have to support another failed “program”.