Various vegetables and fruits on display in grocery store(Photo: moodboard, Getty Images/moodboard RF)
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WVEC) - People living in the neighborhood near the 3100 block of Jefferson Ave. in Newport News have had no place to buy fresh food. They're living in what's known as a "food desert."
Jim Scanlon has worked for major grocery store chains across the country for four decades.
"There's really not a supermarket around here for miles, probably about four to five miles," said Scanlon.
He's working on a project in Newport News that would give residents access to fresh fruits and vegetables.
"Just to see people over the hot summers in Virginia carrying chilled products that should have been home quicker," Scanlon recounts from a time when he lived near a food desert.
BayPort Credit Union will have a branch in Jim's Local Market when it opens in late March. The land is actually owned by the City of Newport News, who is paying for the construction. Scanlon will manage the store and pay the city back through a lease, a public-private partnership.
There are entire swaths of neighborhoods across the country where residents don't have access to fresh food. Many times, there is a higher rate of obesity, heart disease and diabetes in these areas.
"I think every single child in Virginia deserves access to an apple. They should have the choice of whether to choose a bag of Cheetos or an apple, and I think many kids really do want to have that option. Families and parents want their kids to have that option," said Melissa Assalone with the American Heart Association.
The American Heart Association has been working to convince lawmakers toapprove $10 million that Governor Terry McAuliffe could set aside to invest in the Virginia Grocery Investment Fund. The money would be used to help give a viable business model to poor urban and rural communities without a major grocery store chain.
"We are working with the statewide community development financing institution called Virginia Community Capital, and they are poised and ready to help if we get this funding allocated for this program for the Virginia Grocery Investment Fund," said Assalone.
The nonprofit Virginia Community Capital would invest $15 million of its own money, then seek an additional $75 million from federal grants and private partnerships with people like Scanlon, who want to bring grocery store options to food deserts.
But the fund is contingent on whether lawmakers decide they want to stick with Gov. McAuliffe’s recommendation and allot the $10 million to the Virginia Grocery Investment Fund. A decision is expected when the General Assembly wraps around March 12.
If the governor's $10 million proposal is approved by state lawmakers, the plan is to use Scanlon's template across the Commonwealth.
Norfolk mayoral candidate Sen. Kenneth Alexander grew up in a section of Norfolk that did not have a major grocery store, so he says his family had a long commute to find fresh, healthy groceries.
"[In] reducing diabetes and reducing cancers and heart disease and other diet related diseases, you have to have access to fresh fruit, fresh vegetables and fresh meats," Alexander said. "[It is] very critical as we look at health costs and healthcare, and also the access to healthcare in urban areas and rural areas."
A group of individuals in downtown Suffolk is also fighting to get funding for a grocery store along the 300 block of Washington St., an area with limited healthy food options.
“Suffolk is in a plausible position to get some of the funding," said Bob Stephens, a community member who formed the group to lobby local leaders.
Among the members of the group is Councilman Curtis Milteer, who is already trying to convince the city manager to set aside money from the capital improvement funding package.
"[I] want to make sure that something is included for this project as well," said Councilman Milteer, who believes a grocery store can also combat blight in the area.
