Other Side of the Red Line

Supermarket Red-Lining is generally seen in low-income, minority dense areas and marked by the absence of supermarkets in a region.

Whats the problem? Well it encompasses our blog theme: you are what you eat, you eat where you are.

This red-lining is troublesome because it limits the range of food that people in these supermarket-deprived areas can consume. Basically the range in what they can eat goes from everything nutritious, fresh and good to just strictly processed, full of preservatives and high fructose corn syrup canned/frozen/boxed foods etc.

Food is purchased at mini-marts that are found at every corner flanked by liquor stores or fast food restaurants. Their food that they consume is strictly because of where they are. Many of these people do not have means (i.e. money, transportation) to get to these supermarkets where fresh-produce could be found. This had led to many studies done in where residents of red-lined areas are suffering from malnutrition and health problems.

The New York Times briefly talks about the support and opposition to a one year moratorium that was passed in South Los Angeles that bans new fast food restaurants from opening and gives incentives to those prospective owners who open a grocery store or non-fast food restaurants. Although it does not explicitly speak towards redlining, South L.A. is subject to it, as hinted in the article (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/09/us/09ban.html?hp).

Vera Tran