Community Food Security - read the Hunger Commission's food access study and download free food access study materials including curriculum for nutrition education workshops.

Local stores (continued)

Another drawback with independent markets was the inability to offer quality affordable perishables, like produce, meat, and fish. The small space available in independent markets severely limited the amount of produce and meat that could be stored. One woman equated the disparity of savings between stores inside and outside the neighborhood to affording a pound less of food inside the neighborhood. She used the example that because bananas were more expensive at Sav-Max (than a comparable store outside of the community), she could not buy the same amount.

Many stores in low-income communities have difficulty supplying produce because of the distribution of food stamps early in the month. According to Weinberg's supermarket study, industry analysts noted that the delivery of once a month public assistance benefits force many poor households to shop in bulk in the beginning of the month for non-perishable items. Consequently, many stores in low-income communities may supply perishables according to the same schedule, decreasing the supply of produce available at the end of the month. Due to these challenges, the produce and meat supply in certain stores in Del Paso Heights and North Sacramento did suffer, especially at the end of the month. Many residents' complained of the bad quality saying, "The quality of fresh fruits and vegetables is not good. We have to either go to another area, or have to go without it." The rarity of fresh affordable meat was a common concern among each group as well. Many participants criticized the quality of meat in one particular store, Kings Supermarket, saying, "The meat is awful. It is all packaged and it is green." Commission staff followed up on this complaint and examined the meat specifically looking for the green meat that had been spoken of in the community input groups. We did in fact find brown meat with parts that had begun to turn green. This is not the first time King's has been noted for a lack of quality business. A 1993 North Sacramento trade area analysis conducted by The Real Estate Department Corporate Real Estate Services wrote, "King Super (King's) …does not present an image that is conducive to attracting retail shopping activity from beyond the immediate neighborhood." Many residents have decided to bypass the local options altogether and shop outside of the area, instead traveling to Farmers' Markets or large chain grocery stores.

This negative perception seems to have transferred to all stores within the area. Regardless of whether or not all stores are unsafe or unsanitary, many of the residents' perceptions are negative, influencing where they shop and ultimately impacting the businesses in the community. Participants said that trash and broken glass surrounded many of the local stores. They also did not feel safe in or near most of the stores. Due to the high percentage of crime, many people wanted physical evidence of increased safeguards, such as security guards and better lighting in dark parking lots. One mother said, "When shopping at night, with a three year old, I want to feel safe inside. At bigger stores, I see guards. Atsmaller stores, guards, if there, are doing nothing." Many smaller stores cannot afford to hire a guard and for that reason offer shorter hours of operation. However, many people said that evenings, after work, was their only time to shop. Currently, most local stores in the two zip codes closed at 9:00 p.m. These operating hours make it difficult and more expensive to travel to a grocery store. The only store in the area that is open 24 hours is Sav-Max, which lies on the other side of the freeway from the neighborhood, requiring a long trip at night if walking or biking. For that reason some participants said they resorted to patronizing local liquor stores late at night when other stores were closed.

Despite issues regarding personal safety, many residents loyally patronize the neighborhood stores because they are a part of their community and so residents want to offer support and encouragement. One person said that they liked how Sav-Max made an effort to hire residents, and has continued to maintain that standard. Many participants like the neighborhood feeling of the smaller markets, like Arcade Market. For example, many people knew the butcher at Arcade. One person said, "There is a good butcher there. The cuts are better so that it doesn't come out tough. My mother has shopped there." Like Arcade, people also patronized a small local store, Jimmy's, because they knew and trusted the owner. "I go to Jimmy's because they know me and cut meat the way I want. They know my 13 year old son." Certain neighborhood stores were considered part of the community, and for that reason many patronized them for particular specialty items. On the whole, most people shopped around at several different stores depending upon need and transportation resources. Like most shoppers, they wait for the sales, and shop for different items at different places. A large percentage of people mentioned Sav-Max, WinCo, and the Rainbow Food Cannery for staple items, and Arcade, Big G, or Jimmy's for meat. Another significantly large percentage of people shopped at a large chain grocery store outside of the community for the majority of their groceries. One group had 100% of participants that shopped outside of the area. They said they went out of the area to buy food because of "safety concerns, quality of produce, and better deals. "However despite the current perception of local stores, the majority of the participants agreed that if local stores were able to supply fresh fruit and produce, they would shop there more frequently.

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