You can think of this as a modern-day tale of two cities, North Berkeley and West Oakland, neighboring cities in the San Francisco Bay Area roughly five miles apart. Both cities have approximately 22,000 residents. North Berkley is 65% white and 3.5% Black. West Oakland is 45.4% Black and 15.4% White (City Data, 2017). Berkeley has one supermarket for every 3,000 people. In contrast, Oakland has an average of one supermarket per 93,126 people (Bass, 2009). In North Berkeley alone there are three Safeway stores, two of them within one block of each other. In addition, there are many options for gourmet food including a bread and cheese collective, an artisan butcher shop and a weekly farmers market. There are no Safeway stores in West Oakland except for a Pak n Save, a low-end chain owned by Safeway, which is actually located in nearby Emeryville. With the recent opening of a worker-owned cooperative market and a community market, the people of West Oakland are striving to fill the void.

 Oakland was once a thriving industrial area that grew with the advent of World War II. The influx of workers led to the creation of Black housing projects segregated in West Oakland. Once the war was over, and industry declined, segregation was maintained by bank redlining which prevented many Black people from obtaining home loans, gerrymandering to cripple political power and the creation of physical barriers such as highways separating the Black areas from the rest of the city. A white flight to the suburbs ensued and the grocery stores went with them, leaving behind a food desert.

Food deserts are geographic areas where at least one third of the urban population lives more than 1 mile away from a supermarket (USDA, 2009). Today, 12.8% of the population (39 million people) live in food deserts. White neighborhoods contain an average of four times as many supermarkets as predominantly black neighborhoods. Health issues in food deserts are common, as fast-food chains and convenience stores are often the most available options. The lack of nutritional food choices leads to increased rates of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Death from diabetes is twice as likely in food deserts compared to areas that offer access to grocery stores (Escobedo, 2019).

Following the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Amhoud Arbery, 75% of S&P 250 companies made statements supporting the racial justice movement and promoting equal opportunity for Black, Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) in the US. What many of these companies don’t acknowledge is that by avoiding building stores in low income neighbors, they are contributing to the racial divide in our country. In their statements following the death of George Floyd, retail corporations like Safeway (owned by Albertsons), KrogerCo, Costco Wholesale and Walmart Inc. stated they do not stand for racism or discrimination, but none of them had plans to make any changes to their store locations.

This has been a longstanding pattern. In 2016, Walmart pledged to open 300 new stores in the US, serving 80,000 Americans living in food deserts. While they did follow through on this promise, they also closed 150 other stores, disproportionately affecting low income, low density areas. Of these 150 stores, 121 of them were in neighborhoods where the median household income fell below the national average (Green, 2020). Similarly, Krogers closed 20 of its locations in 2018 targeting minority neighborhoods, claiming them to be unprofitable. If Walmart and Kroger want to uphold their statements against racism, they should reopen a portion of these locations in communities that suffer from food insecurity. Despite the potential profitability of locating supermarkets in food deserts, corporations continue to avoid investing in these areas, thereby perpetuating a cycle of inequality and food insecurity. By building stores in food deserts, not only would they be giving millions of Americans a chance at a healthier life, but they would also be bringing jobs and opportunities into these areas. As illustrated by the stark differences between North Berkeley and West Oakland, there is no excuse for the shocking disparities in food accessibility, communities so close together and yet so far apart.

References

Bass, Angela. “Oakland's Food Divide.” 2009, Oakland North, oaklandnorth.net/few-food-choices/.

City Data. (2017). North Berkeley neighborhood in Berkeley, California (CA), 94703, 94706, 94707, 94709 detailed profile. Retrieved from City Data: http://www.city-data.com/neighborhood/North-Berkeley-Berkeley-CA.html

City Data. (2017). West Oakland neighborhood in Oakland, California (CA), 94607, 94608 detailed profile. Retrieved from City Data: http://www.city-data.com/neighborhood/West-Oakland-Oakland-CA.html

Durocher , Kate. “Gentrification, Whole Foods, and Food Deserts.” Gentrification, Whole Foods, & Food Deserts, 17 May 2019, futurefood.fm/gentrification-whole-foods-food-deserts/.

Escobedo, Marlen. “Food Deserts:Oakland, Ca.” ArcGIS StoryMaps, Esri, 25 Oct. 2019,
storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/573a814cfaf8492b881ffc898192af42.

Green, Dymond. “Why Food Deserts Are Still a Problem in America.” CNBC, CNBC, 20 Aug. 2020, www.cnbc.com/2020/08/20/trader-joes-kroger-walmart-supervalu-and-americas-food-deserts.html

USDA. “Access to Affordable and Nutritious Food .” ERS Report Summary, USDA , June 2009,    www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/42711/12715_ap036_reportsummary_1_.pdf?v=0.