Pennsylvania program lures grocers to inner city

SCT Extra
October 25, 2005

A year-old program to bring fresh produce to Pennsylvania’s inner cities is bearing fruit.

The government-funded Fresh Food Financing Initiative used a $250K grant to entice The Fresh Grocer, a five-unit local chain, to open a store in one such area, at Philadelphia’s Independence Plaza.

“It’s a challenge, but we like a challenge,” Pat Burns, president of Fresh Grocer, told SCT Xtra. “And the grant will help.”

Inner-city residents lack sufficient supermarkets, says Hannah Burton, a senior associate at The Food Trust, a Philadelphia-based advocacy group. A Food Trust survey found disproportionately high rates of diabetes, heart disease and cancer in lower-income neighborhoods. Burton says the initiative can improve the health of people in these areas by helping supply more fruits and vegetables.

The program has already handed out a total of $8M to four grocery stores and plans to give to six more, said Donald Hinkley-Brown, president of The Reinvestment Fund, which administers the program, in an interview with SCT Xtra. He says the money is used to train supermarket employees and build stores.