NYC to Get FRESH Supermarkets

by Greg Plotkin · 2009-09-24 06:00:00 UTC
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In the spirit of National Food Desert Awareness month, yesterday morning, the New York City Department of City Planning voted unanimously in favor of an initiative that will bring fresh fruits, vegetables and other all-too-rare perishable goods to some of the city's most under-served residents.

The Food Retail Expansion to Support Health (or FRESH) program will give various zoning and tax incentives to retail companies that open supermarkets in designated communities throughout the five boroughs.

For example, new stores that meet the FRESH eligibility requirements will be given sales tax exemptions, real estate tax reductions and be required to provide less parking than is mandated for other retail food operations by the city's zoning laws.

All in all, these incentives help to overcome the greatest barrier to providing healthy food to low-income communities--the perceived lack of financial return for companies that open supermarkets in these areas.  This is an incredibly innovative program that seems to be a replicable model other cities can follow.

Still, labor activists are concerned that the FRESH program does not go far enough in providing well-paying jobs and benefits to the community members these new stores will serve.  For any new supermarket receiving FRESH incentives, labor groups want standards in place that would require these stores to pay their employees livable wages, accept EBT and WIC vouchers, create at least 25 new jobs, hire locally and involve the community in the planning process.

Thus far, it's unclear whether any of the these standards were incorporated into the final FRESH language that was approved.

It's my hope that they were because more than being a way to boost the economic opportunities in under-served parts of NYC, including these standards would signify a sort of social contract with communities that will benefit from FRESH supermarkets.

It would not only be an economic investment in these communities, but an investment in the people who live there as well.

(Photo credit: calm a llama down on Flickr)

Greg Plotkin currently works for Flying Pigs Farm in Shushan, NY. He is dedicated to eliminating inequalities in who has access to healthy food and alleviating hunger.
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