Though Sir Arthur Conan Doyle didn't live to write "The
Case of the Disappearing Inner City Grocery Stores," the
trend would no doubt have caused much disquiet in the
heart of his medical mouthpiece, Dr Watson. In major cities
across Canada, giant superstores located far from downtown
cores are quickly becoming the only grocery option, leaving
most of our neighbourhoods starved of readily available
fresh fruit and vegetables, and vulnerable to the perils
of obesity.
According to a recent report on
CBC's Marketplace, a study by the City of Vancouver
showed that between 1980 and 1998, four supermarkets
located on main shopping streets or in busy neighbourhood
'nodes' closed, while one new supermarket opened in
a shopping mall, and four new stores opened in industrial
areas — all far from downtown. In Toronto, city
councillor Shelley Carroll found that in her residential
ward there are a mere three grocery stores to service
an area inhabited by 112,000 people.
So how can those who live in inner
cities but don't have cars acquire the healthy food
they need? "It's tricky," says Dr David Jenkins, Professor
and Canada Research Chair in Nutrition and Metabolism,
Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto.
"It depends on what part of the city they live in. Recent
studies find some strong correlations between urban
sprawl and difficulty in accessing grocery stores and
supermarkets, as well as parks and recreational areas."
BETTER
PLANNING, CHOICES
One such study, "A Canadian Look at Obesity, Driving
and Community Design" from the August issue of American
Journal of Preventive Medicine, uncovered a startling
link between city planning and obesity levels among
residents. The study's lead author, Dr Larry Frank,
PhD, of UBC's School of Community and Regional Planning,
says it's critically important to have destinations
like grocery stores within walking distance. "The more
of these you have, the less likely you are to be obese,"
says Dr Frank. "And of these destinations, restaurants
and grocery stores are the establishments found to be
the most highly associated with the choice to walk."
So when grocery stores leave our
neighbourhoods, our lifestyles take a turn for the worse.
"If we continue to lose food establishments that provide
healthy food choices," says Dr Frank, "we're going to
mandate that people drive more, which increases obesity,
and we're also going to offset their travel patterns,
which decreases walking."
In spite of their faults, Dr Jenkins
sees the new superstores as the way of the future. "I'd
like to see more of them," he says. "They have an excellent
function when done properly, and a wide selection of
nutritious foods. The problem is that you have to drive
to them because they haven't been built into our urban
planning." Dr Jenkins hopes such stores will be given
breaks on property tax and rent as incentives to remain
in urban areas where people can walk to them. "Big stores
are sometimes forced out because of rental rates, and
unless you're a Starbucks or McDonald's, you can't compete
in inner city areas. 'Mum and Pop' stores are even more
vulnerable because they've got even less money."
Dr Frank agrees something needs
to be done. "We need policy changes regarding public
health, the environment and transportation," he says.
"And we have to create resources, such as financial
support for small-scale food retailers, to help retain
healthy food establishments in the community."
Am J Prev Med 2004 Aug;27(2):87-96
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