Healthy and affordable food for inner city areas

Back in the 1960’s, when the middle-class fled the cities for suburban refuge, there was an unforeseen consequence: the ‘grocery gap.’ It’s been widening over the years. One man, however, with a very simple plan, is turning this around: Pennsylvania State Representative Dwight Evans.

The unfavorable ratio of grocery stores to fast-food restaurants in some inner city area is being addressed with the added benefit of job creation. The lack of access to fresh fruits and vegetables has been linked to many health problems like hypertension, obesity, and heart disease that are more prevalent in these areas.

The grocery stores have been reluctant to enter into the inner city areas as they are not seen as profit centers. What Representative Evans has done is facilitated some incentives to the supermarkets in hopes of inviting them back into the community. As a result, over 3,000 jobs have been created and the access to healthy foods has increased.

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