Wal-Mart Hears the Cry for Healthy Foods... But Mason Square is Still a Food Desert

If you've shopped at Wal-Mart, you've probably noticed that the least-nutritious foods are the cheapest.

Apparently that's going to change.

Wal-Mart recently announced their intentions to decrease salt, fat and sugar in their packaged foods, and to lower prices on healther foods, including produce.

According to a recent New York Times article:

A range of studies has shown that low-income people, especially those who receive food stamps, face special dietary challenges because eating healthy costs more and healthier food is harder to get in their neighborhoods. James D. Weill, president of Food Research and Action Center, an organization that has discussed the problem with Wal-Mart, said the company recognized “how much hunger and food insecurity there is in the country.”

Springfield is the fattest city in Massachusetts. The fact that healthier food is harder to get in low-income neighborhoods is nothing new to us at Springfield Partners for Community Action...

We've been working to turn this around. With our community partners, we hold an annual Food Policy and Obesity conference, a family event focused on nutrition education and promoting healthy living. Springfield Partners also recently received a Healthy Community Collaborative grant to provide home visits and one-on-one nutrition and health counseling to 125 Mason Square residents. Our Community Services Director, Synthia Scott-Mitchell, is co-chair of the Concerned Citizens for Mason Square Farmers' Market, which offers fresh local produce on summer Saturdays at Baystate's Neighborhood Health Center, 11 Wilbraham Road.

Yet Mason Square – comprised of four of the poorest neighborhoods in the second-poorest city in Massachusetts – is still an urban “food desert,” a place where healthy, affordable food is difficult to obtain. Bodegas and fast-food restaurants are everywhere, but there's just one small food market, not large enough to be considered a supermarket. Many residents rely on public transportation and can't just drive over to Chicopee's Wal-Mart Supercenter – or any other supermarket – at their convenience.

This first graphic, published on the Mason Square Market's blog, shows Springfield's food sources.



Mason Square's food sources are shown in the second graphic.



See the Desert?

But change is in the air, and you can be part of it.

The Mason Square Food Justice Team, an effort led by Partners for a Healthier Community, has been working with the State Street Alliance to bring a full-service supermarket to Mason Square.

Synthia Scott-Mitchell, a Concerned Citizens for Mason Square member, said the community is rallying around the cause. She urged people to get involved.

“The community really needs to decide what kind of grocery store they want, because they're the ones who are going to be shopping there,” she said. Hiring local residents and contractors for supermarket jobs and construction contracts will also be paramount.

Increasing healthy food options will not just make it easier and cheaper to get a head of lettuce. Better food options will likely reduce obesity and reduce publicly-financed health care costs for obesity-related treatments.

Please get involved with this important project! To learn how, contact Jessica Collins at Partners for a Healthier Community by e-mail or phone, 413-794-2520, or e-mail Wanda Givens.