UNITED STATES NEWS

In food-crazy New Orleans, food ‘deserts’ persist

Oct 19, 2012, 7:36 PM

Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Dwayne Boudreaux’s memories of the Circle Food Store in New Orleans 7th Ward neighborhood are so vivid he can walk through its colonnade of arches into the dark and empty shell and give a guided tour of how it was before Hurricane Katrina.

He points to where the registers once rang, patrons cashed paychecks, children lined up to buy school uniforms and neighborhood cooks shopped for dressed wild game, live turtles for soups and abundant fresh produce.

“Everybody knew us for the fresh fruits and vegetables,” Boudreaux said. “We were the bell pepper capital of the city.”

Seven years after Katrina flood waters inundated most of New Orleans, the store’s barren insides are emblematic of a problem that neighborhood activists say was exacerbated by the catastrophe: In a city known for its food, fresh produce and affordable groceries are hard to come by in some neighborhoods.

In the hard-hit Lower 9th Ward, activists planned to call attention Saturday to the “food desert” with a festival including live music, cooking demonstrations and a “pop up” outdoor grocery in a church parking lot.

“It will be an actual grocery store, not just a farmer’s market,” said Jenga Mwendo, a community organizer.

Mwendo said about 30 percent of residents in the Lower 9th Ward lack personal transportation, making a trip to the nearest full-service grocery outlet _ a Walmart in the neighboring city of Chalmette _ problematic.

Lower 9th resident Gertrude LeBlanc, 76, has her own car. And she needs it to get quality food. There are convenience stores closer to home, but the prices are high. “For a person on a fixed income, with no food stamps, it’s hard,” Leblanc said.

The problem with access to food in the neighborhood stretches back before the storm: Mwendo said there hasn’t been a full-service grocery there in 20 years. And price is not the only problem she sees with convenience stores. “It’s poor-quality food,” she said.

City officials are trying to increase access to fresh, high quality food with a program called Fresh Food Retailer Initiative, which includes a low-interest loan program for supermarkets, grocery stores and other fresh food retailers and the use of federal economic development block grants.

“One, it improves the health of our citizens. Two, it creates jobs,” said Aimee Quirk, an economic adviser to Mayor Mitch Landrieu. They hope successful grocery stores can play a role in bringing people back to the city.

That’s an issue in the Lower 9th Ward, where empty lots are still evident and the 2010 census indicates a population that is roughly a fifth of what it was before the 2005 storm’s levee breaches.

“I get calls from people in other areas … that still don’t want to come back to the area because they don’t have a grocery store here,” said Boudreaux, who hopes to return Circle to its role as an economic and cultural landmark in the 7th Ward, where census figures show population is about 60 percent of pre-Katrina levels.

The 1930s-era Circle building is believed to be the first grocery in the city that was owned and operated by African-Americans, and it remains a geographic landmark with its Spanish tiled roof, pale stucco exterior and circus-style lettering.

Boudreaux, who took over ownership the store in the 1990s after he was hired to manage it in 1987, has been working for years to line up financing for its post-Katrina restoration, getting help from the business school at Tulane University and the city in getting low-interest loans and grants. He expects to have the deals completed and renovation begun by early November.

“It’s just so vital to the community,” he said. “It’s something that I need to do and want to do.”

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

United States News

Dorothy Jean Tillman II graduated ASU at 17...

Associated Press

17-year-old ‘genius’ graduates from ASU with doctorate in integrated behavioral health

Dorothy Jean Tillman II entered college at the age of 10. This year, she earned a doctorate from Arizona State University at 17 years old.

28 minutes ago

Associated Press

Verdict in for wildlife mystery in Nevada where DNA tests show suspected wolves were coyotes

RENO, Nev. (AP) — The verdict is in. The latest wildlife mystery in Nevada has been solved. Scientists who set out on a trail through the snow near the Idaho line to gather evidence like detectives in search of a suspect relied on the scat and fur samples they collected to determine a trio of […]

2 hours ago

Associated Press

Justice Department says Boeing violated deal that avoided prosecution after 737 Max crashes

The Justice Department has determined that Boeing violated a settlement that allowed the company to avoid criminal prosecution after two deadly crashes involving its 737 Max aircraft, the agency told a federal judge on Tuesday. It is now up to the Justice Department to weigh whether to file charges against the aircraft maker. The Justice […]

2 hours ago

Associated Press

The Rev. William Lawson, Texas civil rights leader who worked with Martin Luther King Jr, dies at 95

HOUSTON (AP) — The Rev. William “Bill” Lawson, a longtime pastor and civil rights leader who helped desegregate Houston and worked with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights movement, has died. He was 95. Lawson’s longtime church, Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church in that Texas city, announced on its website that he […]

3 hours ago

Associated Press

Cargo ship that caused Baltimore bridge collapse had power blackouts hours before leaving port

BALTIMORE (AP) — The cargo ship Dali experienced electrical blackouts about 10 hours before leaving the Port of Baltimore and yet again shortly before it slammed into the Francis Key Bridge and killed six construction workers, federal investigators said Tuesday, providing the most detailed account yet of the tragedy. The first power outage occurred after […]

4 hours ago

Associated Press

Georgia’s governor and others pile into state court race where challenger has focused on abortion

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp says he will spend more than $500,000 from his political committee to help a state Supreme Court justice he appointed win election. The Republican Kemp isn’t the only conservative supporting Justice Andrew Pinson in his May 21 nonpartisan election against John Barrow, a former Democratic congressman who has […]

4 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

...

Day & Night Air Conditioning, Heating and Plumbing

Beat the heat, ensure your AC unit is summer-ready

With temperatures starting to rise across the Valley, now is a great time to be sure your AC unit is ready to withstand the sweltering summer heat.

...

DESERT INSTITUTE FOR SPINE CARE

Desert Institute for Spine Care is the place for weekend warriors to fix their back pain

Spring has sprung and nothing is better than March in Arizona. The temperatures are perfect and with the beautiful weather, Arizona has become a hotbed for hikers, runners, golfers, pickleball players and all types of weekend warriors.

...

Day & Night Air Conditioning, Heating and Plumbing

Day & Night is looking for the oldest AC in the Valley

Does your air conditioner make weird noises or a burning smell when it starts? If so, you may be due for an AC unit replacement.

In food-crazy New Orleans, food ‘deserts’ persist