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Fears grow over 'food swamps' as drugstores outsell major grocers

theguardian.com

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Re: Fears grow over 'food swamps' as drugstores outsell major grocers

#111

Post by ryacko »

ghc wrote: post #46
AdmiralAsshat wrote: post #9

That's a pity, because doing grocery shopping at CVS is like doing grocery shopping at a gas station / convenience mart: there's a $1-3 markup on damn near everything. And I imagine the people that are forced to shop at a drugstore are probably poor to begin with, so, that hits them even worse.

I think maybe urban stores might skew the stats a bit. There's so much demand for groceries within a short walk of all the local condo buildings that my local Walgreens has set up a fresh sushi counter. The cheaper, giant grocery stores are all located in low income areas where land is cheap, but there's 8 CVS, 5 7-Eleven, and 2 Walgreens within a quarter mile walk of where I live and work. So when I run out of flour…

Most fresh sushi counters are operated by an LLC unrelated to the supermarket, and a baffling percentage goes unsold throughout the day.

Re: Fears grow over 'food swamps' as drugstores outsell major grocers

#112

Post by asdff »

Theodores wrote: post #63

Interesting that even if you put fresh produce in a 'food desert' that people don't buy it. I wonder if a lot of this has to do with how family life is going. It is not the 1960's any more and we don't have the whole family sat around the table at dinner time with mum having been home all day keeping the house in order. For people who don't have a dining room and people to cook for, why lovingly prepare a meal from f…

In the 1960s mom might have started dinner 3 hours before it hit the plate, before anyone else got home. Even recipes listed as 'quick' take at least 20-30 mins to prep, call it another 30 mins to eat, and then 15 mins to clean. In a world where wages are stagnant while housing costs rocket, and both parents need to work, free time is at an all time low.

Not a lot of people have that kind of time to prepare a healthy meal, especially when they get home exhausted from work or have to get ready to work second or third shift, and might be trapped in a car two hours a day. Who has time to shuck corn, mash potatoes, and peel rutabagas? It becomes far more attractive to pop in the take and bake lasagna and throw the tin out afterward and actually have some time to spend with your kids before you put them to bed.

Re: Fears grow over 'food swamps' as drugstores outsell major grocers

#113

Post by frosted-flakes »

my_username_is_ wrote: post #82
mac01021 wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in New England and have never heard of Wawa or Sheetz.

Wawa is a chain of large convenience stores, mostly in the Mid-Atlantic region. They typically have a sandwich counter inside, which I think is most comparable to having an in-store Subway. Ask someone from Pennsylvania or New Jersey what they think of Wawa. In my experience, their eyes generally light up and they start raving in a way that most people don't talk about a gas station convenience store.

It's because they have real food, whereas most gas station convenience stores only sell junk.

24 hours a day, you can get hot soup, quesadillas, sandwiches, salads, burritos, etc. in a matter of minutes for a reasonable price. There's really nothing else like it.

Re: Fears grow over 'food swamps' as drugstores outsell major grocers

#114

Post by mac01021 »

frosted-flakes wrote: post #113
my_username_is_ wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wawa is a chain of large convenience stores, mostly in the Mid-Atlantic region. They typically have a sandwich counter inside, which I think is most comparable to having an in-store Subway. Ask someone from Pennsylvania or New Jersey what they think of Wawa. In my experience, their eyes generally light up and they start raving in a way that most people don't talk about a gas station convenience store.

It's because they have real food , whereas most gas station convenience stores only sell junk. 24 hours a day, you can get hot soup, quesadillas, sandwiches, salads, burritos, etc. in a matter of minutes for a reasonable price. There's really nothing else like it.

Sounds like a 24-hour diner.

Re: Fears grow over 'food swamps' as drugstores outsell major grocers

#115

Post by captainredbeard »

behringer wrote: post #64
p49k wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Assuming this is true: If you visit WF, your entire shopping needs won’t be met by the available 365-branded foods, which means you’ll either have to shop at multiple stores (extremely difficult if you are poor) or buy the remaining products at severely marked up prices, negating any savings the 365-brands products might have offered. In particular, produce, meats and other fresh products are absurdly marked up in WF…

We call WF "whole paycheck", it's a store for rich people who have too much money. I save over half of my grocery bill shopping elsewhere.

In general, their produce is much better, especially with things like berries.

Re: Fears grow over 'food swamps' as drugstores outsell major grocers

#116

Post by notfromhere »

dsfyu404ed wrote: post #19
AdmiralAsshat wrote: post #9

That's a pity, because doing grocery shopping at CVS is like doing grocery shopping at a gas station / convenience mart: there's a $1-3 markup on damn near everything. And I imagine the people that are forced to shop at a drugstore are probably poor to begin with, so, that hits them even worse.

Where real estate is expensive the only grocery stores that can stay afloat are fat margin chains that cater to upscale customers. The poor people are then forced to shop at CVS or wherever, sure it's more expensive than Walmart or a proper grocery store but it's still cheaper than whole paycheck. WF (or Trader Joes for that matter) simply doesn't sell value priced versions of a lot of items. CVS will sell it at a ri…

Not really true. Poor people shop at places like Aldi's and other discount grocers.

Re: Fears grow over 'food swamps' as drugstores outsell major grocers

#117

Post by plausibilities »

mc32 wrote: post #43
samayylmao wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you can't afford transportation you're limited to what you can walk to. In the area I live you cannot bring more than one bag with you on public transportation and it takes almost an hour to get across town on the bus. It would be cheaper to buy marked up food from a gas station or drugstore than pay for a taxi ride or waste half a day riding the bus. Edit: essentially, a lot of the time it is expensive to be poor…

Being poor doesn’t mean you can’t get a bus ticket. All it means is you are deliberate in your shopping and planning. You plan your trip to take advantage of transfer tickets and such. Sometimes you walk a mile or two or you bike or you bum a ride from someone. Being poor doesn’t mean you can’t plan and are helpless. Sure it’s not ideal and I prefer being able to shop ad hoc at my leisure, no doubt. But when I had to…

No it doesn't.

But being poor DOES mean lowered efficiency with respect to an astonishing number of steps involved to achieve the desired outcome.

And when you have enough of these lowered efficiencies at one time and they begin to compound like interest...

Not always a pretty picture.

Re: Fears grow over 'food swamps' as drugstores outsell major grocers

#118

Post by behringer »

captainredbeard wrote: post #115
behringer wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We call WF "whole paycheck", it's a store for rich people who have too much money. I save over half of my grocery bill shopping elsewhere.

In general, their produce is much better, especially with things like berries.

Better than what? In my area within just a few miles I can get to 5 different produce markets that offer world-class quality produce at rock bottom pricing. Organic or not, anything you want to eat.

Re: Fears grow over 'food swamps' as drugstores outsell major grocers

#119

Post by frosted-flakes »

mac01021 wrote: post #114
frosted-flakes wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's because they have real food , whereas most gas station convenience stores only sell junk. 24 hours a day, you can get hot soup, quesadillas, sandwiches, salads, burritos, etc. in a matter of minutes for a reasonable price. There's really nothing else like it.

Sounds like a 24-hour diner.

Except Wawa is explicitly take-away (there are no seats), it's part of a gas station, and they're everywhere.

Re: Fears grow over 'food swamps' as drugstores outsell major grocers

#120

Post by jpindar »

mac01021 wrote: post #114
frosted-flakes wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's because they have real food , whereas most gas station convenience stores only sell junk. 24 hours a day, you can get hot soup, quesadillas, sandwiches, salads, burritos, etc. in a matter of minutes for a reasonable price. There's really nothing else like it.

Sounds like a 24-hour diner.

More like convenience store with a deli counter, similar to some of the larger Cumberland Farms.
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