There are food deserts because most people in their right mind wouldn’t open a business there.
Used to run in for a soda at 3 or 4am when driving a cab overnight. It was a bad neighborhood.
almost every time, someone was trying to steal something or was arguing about price or there was a drunk in there.
Yep, its pie in the sky liberal dreaming here. They are saying this is such a great opportunity to convert the former liquor stores to grocery stores, to serve the food desert.
One problem is : suppose nobody wants to run a grocery store in that neighborhood???
This is an interesting area of talk. First the amount of shoplifting prevents a store from making a profit. Then there is the lack of civics as you mention that drive people away. Lastly You see people looking at the boarded up buildings. There is a limited amount of money to purchase goods and services. They can only support so much.