GOOD Magazine
As entrepreneurs and food activists attempt to bring fresh produce to more and more urban food deserts, they’re setting their crosshairs on one target in particular: the corner store. Packed to the gills with cigarettes, lotto tickets, liquor, and processed foods, the shops do little to nourish the communities where they operate, and in many urban areas—particularly black, Latino, or low-income neighborhoods—these stores are the only places to buy any food at all.
According to Alphonzo and Alison Cross, founders of The Boxcar Grocer in Atlanta (and winners of GOOD’s contest to redesign the supermarket), this needs to change. Their just-opened corner store alternative, where local and organic food options get prime shelf space, is an attempt to respect “the fact that every community desires fresh food, and locally made food is just about as fresh as you can get,” says Alison.
Tags: 20120208
