Earlier quoted context omitted.
> East Palo Alto has only one, and struggled for years without a grocery store or bank. I understand that it's an independent polity, but it's also surrounded by other urban areas. I can get a 51 minute bus ride from an apartment complex in East Palo Alto to a Safeway, which does cost about $5 but that's a discussion for another day; my point is, East Palo Alto only has "one grocery store" if you ignore everything su…
An hour's bus ride (assuming you catch the schedule right) each way is pretty ruinous for someone working long hours or with kids to look after. I think it hardly counts as "local".
Sounds really bad having to go by bus for an hour, I have 2-10 stores within walking distance (3-35 minutes), in a similarly sized and populated area. It would be really interesting understanding why there are no stores in some areas.