Abdul: How ‘do-gooders’ helped create Indy’s food desert

I don’t fully subscribe to the theory of man-made climate change; however, when it comes to the concept of “food deserts,” I am convinced that not only are humans responsible for their creation, but it’s usually do-gooders and “community activists” who should shoulder the blame.

Take, for example, the latest news involving Double 8 food stores. The chain announced that it was closing several stores in Indianapolis. Those stores, which served largely minority neighborhoods for nearly 60 years, cited declining revenues as the reason for shutting their doors. This has a lot of people worked up because in those neighborhoods, Double 8 was the only nearby grocery store.

Now a lot of people are trying to figure out how to make sure folks in those neighborhoods have access to groceries and other products. The city is working with a number of churches, neighborhood groups and not-for-profits. And while I have nothing but admiration for the people who are rolling up their sleeves, I can’t help but think that some of this is self-inflicted.

Hear me out.

First, you have to look at where the Double 8 stores were located: 29th and Martin Luther King Drive; 39th and Illinois streets; 555 Fairfield; 29th and Sherman; and 46th and Illinois. Why does that matter? Well, because it is a fact of life that it costs more to do business in some parts of the city than others, for a variety of reasons. And when it costs more to do business than you take in, then your options are usually very limited, and you may have no choice but to close. A business is not a charity.

Second, this problem might have been mitigated had it not been for the actions of self-appointed and self-righteous community activists. You might recall that about two years ago, Meijer was looking to build a superstore at 16th Street and Martin Luther King Drive. In order to build the store, Meijer wanted to buy and tear down 35 homes, several of them abandoned, in the Flanner House District. But the self-appointed do-gooders swarmed in like a plague of locusts to fight the proposal. Meijer eventually backed away and is now building its superstore at 56th and Keystone. Had folks been a bit more agreeable, they would have seen the benefit of the Meijer, and the “food desert” might have become an oasis.

This story is not unique to Indy. In my hometown of Chicago, the activists and agitators fought to keep Wal-Mart out of the city. In my old neighborhood on the south side, which has been in urban renewal mode for the past few years, a Wal-Mart has gone up. The new store not only has made it easier for my aging parents and their friends to shop, but it also brought jobs to a segment of the population that otherwise would be unemployed.

And Wal-Mart has been an anchor for development, with a number of other stores popping up in the area and putting people to work.

Whenever I take my Dad shopping, he brings up that story, and he is thankful that the people of his community had the common sense to ignore what he called a bunch of “limousine liberals” who didn’t even live there.

Maybe that’s what should have happened in Indy. Had folks been more open-minded, maybe the “food desert” would not be so big, and the city’s leaders would not now be scrambling to figure out how to make sure senior citizens and the poor can eat.

To paraphrase an old saying, “we have met the enemy, and it sure as heck ain’t the big box stores.”

Shabazz is an attorney and editor of IndyPolitics.org. He can be reached at abdul@indypolitics.org.