Have you hugged your supermarket today?

Just when you think you've heard it all about Detroit, the last major supermarket chain pulls out altogether, leaving nothing but mom-and-pop stores within the city limits. In the absence of Wal-Mart and other evil, community-destroying superstores, it should be paradise, right? Right?

Colleen Rogers isn't looking forward to crossing the street to shop for even a few groceries.

The store, a locally owned market, is convenient, just steps away from the beauty shop where she works on Livernois in Detroit. But what troubles her is its higher prices, lack of variety and the low quality of fruit, vegetables, meats and other food -- staples Rogers could find every day in abundance at the Farmer Jack store near her home that is about to close.

"Sure, there's other grocery stores, but try finding something to eat in there," said the 34-year-old skin care specialist. "You can't buy quality food in the city anymore."

The lack of major grocery stores has long been a quality-of-life problem in Detroit and one reason some families don't want to live in the city. Now, however, the situation is getting worse as the last two Farmer Jack stores in the city prepare to close by Saturday.

If no grocery stores buy the Farmer Jack locations from the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., Detroit will be left without a single national chain supermarket, much less a Wal-Mart or Meijer superstore or a Costco-style warehouse store.

[...]

While there are clean, well-run stores scattered throughout the city, many don't offer the variety and selection of a Farmer Jack.

Many residents rely on convenience stores for bread, milk, eggs and snacks. Small stores that do offer meat and produce often sell food past its expiration date, shoppers said. The city has raided stores over the years to crack down on sales of expired food, but many say the problem still persists.

Pat Hollins, an activist with the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, told of stopping in a small neighborhood grocer several weeks ago and immediately finding two expired packages of breakfast sausage.

ACORN has been picketing stores it contends have been selling expired meats and unhealthy foods.

"We have problems with meat and produce being expired," Hollins said. "We have no security in the parking lots, no restrooms in the stores and a poor selection of food products. When you cross Eight Mile, these problems all disappear. The poor folks, who don't have transportation to the suburbs to shop, are being taken advantage of."

Via Fark.com, where the Detroit-related comment threads always have plenty of insightful and darkly funny posts (along with more than a little blatant racism, unfortunately). Check out the very sad Fabulous Ruins of Detroit site, too.

Damian P.

Posted by damian at July 13, 2007 09:04 AM