Used in a sentence: "Having learned from last year's election cycle that corporations are people too, I say three cheers for the Walgreens, boldly responding to the food desert crisis by establishing more than one food oasis in the city in their ubiquitous stores."
Look -- this is a hard concept for me to relate to as I grew up in a small town where stores fought over us as customers -- and Weis and Giant (and for a few years, Festival) were viable choices, all within driving distance (or even ambling distance for that matter), and all providing the fresh foods to which so many simply do not have access, as I've come to learn. Even here in my 'hood in Chitown, I can easily walk to three Jewels, a Whole Foods, a SuperTarget and a Walmart Express (not to mention being able to quickly drive to Strack and Van Til or -- the one that currently has most-favored-grocer status, Mariano's -- or, only in a pinch when I'm prepared to deal with bad service from folks who really don't want to be working, one of a few Dominick's).
But the numbers tell a different story for others -- an estimated 384,000 Chicagoans don't have such flexibility -- and 124,000 of them are kids. I posted just yesterday how grateful I was to be comfortably cuddled and coddled in my humble abode as the weather outside explored the mathematical world of "fahrenheitical" negatives -- and here is another statistical smack in the face to remind me that I'm living like a king surrounded by fresh food choices that are denied to so many (and it's just enough of a smack to guilt me into adding a few more fruits and vegetables to my diet).
So Walgreen's -- mad respect, yo! Keep up the good work, corporate buddy!
THE SOURCE OF THE MAP ABOVE:
http://www.yogagardens.org/demographics/food-desert
WALGREEN'S RESPONSE:
http://www.chaindrugreview.com/inside-this-issue/news/10-26-2009/walgreens-provides-a-food-oasis
NOT JUST AN URBAN PROBLEM ... FIND FOOD DESERTS ACROSS THE USA:
http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-desert-locator/go-to-the-locator.aspx
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