Do You Live in a Food Desert Now?

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You probably don’t live in a food desert. You should recognize, however, that a lot of people in Lexington now do. The USDA measure for a food desert in urban areas is a place that has no supermarkets within a one mile radius. For rural areas, it is 10 miles. Deserts grow and shift, and like a real desert we’ve seen a drastic expansion of this urban food desert with the closing of the Euclid Ave. Kroger. Albeit temporary, this map shows the current food landscape. As you can see, UK’s campus, South Broadway, Transylvania Park, Bell Court, Woodland Triangle are included. Much of the city center has always been a food desert and the corridor along Newtown Pike and Georgetown Road have long suffered as well. It is a very real problem for those who must endure it. For those for whom it is only temporary, you can bet living in a food desert will impact health, finances, and lifestyle. It will add hours to their monthly procurement of food and necessities. This is especially so for those without independent transportation. Many with and without mobility will fall to the temptation to order more delivery or just “grab something quick” and perhaps less healthy.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel. This is an opportunity for Lexington to learn from experience and develop solutions for those who do not have access to good food. Many cities around the country have addressed this in a real way. Some of these solutions have included nonprofit grocery stores, special financing deals for shopping center developers who will build in the heart of food deserts, volunteer organizations like God's Pantry and Faith Feeds/GleenKy have helped immensely, and mobile groceries that bring in healthful options for people to purchase. There is no single solution. Smiley Pete's Guide to Lexington’s small groceries, and ethnic markets.

In Lexington, the problem of our urban food desert has been easily ignored until now, but following the closing of the Euclid Ave. Kroger you won’t have to look very far to find someone who is living in one. Is there a sea change on the horizon? Let’s hope so. It would be a shame to let this opportunity slip away. Perhaps someone will now recognize the opportunity in opening a downtown grocery. Maybe the urban county government will remove some of the obstacles and address some of the issues that have hindered it from happening already.

We are not ones to stir the pot or fan the flames of discord here at Smiley Pete. Instead we more often seek to find solutions and broaden our own experiences and perspectives and those of our readers. We will certainly miss the convenience of the “Disco Kroger,” but here is no love lost. The place was lacking in many ways. We panned it years ago when it got it’s lackluster makeover and that ridiculous facade. Let's move on.

We look forward to the opening of the new Euclid Ave. Kroger store and more importantly, the end of the urban food desert expansion. We hope this will prod Lexington along in finding a solution to the real urban food desert that exists at our core. For those who might find life less convenient in the short term, we suggest taking advantage of Lexington Farmers' Market which opens next week. For basics, there is always Wilson’s Grocery Meat and Produce at 1010 Cramer in Kenwick, and of course there is Shorty’s Urban Market at 163 Short Street. While most have said that they plan to shop at “another Kroger,” there's a myriad of other larger grocery store options including the locally owned Good Foods Market and Cafe at 455 Southland Drive which offers a broad selection of local, natural, organic, non-GMO products and supports over 250 Kentucky farmers and local businesses.

If you are looking for some additional sources of good food and alternatives here is Smiley Pete's Guide to Lexington’s small groceries, and ethnic markets.

Who knows, you might find something new to eat and a new locally owned place to shop.

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