Aldi moves out on West Side store, leaving residents in food desert

Aldi is healthy????? How?

[quote] No racist comments, please.

Why?

[quote] a food desert

Have you been to Darfur? Addis Abbaba? Mozambique?

WTF is a non-profit grocery store? A food bank?

Malnutrition and Death on the West Side.

A neighborhood food coop. Or Mexican fruit and vegetable vendors.

The more punitive the attitude when a supermarket moves out, the less likely any supermarket will want to move in.

Certain people from certain countries become passive, dependent on welfare and lose the ability to think or fend for themselves.

Serves them right. Let them eat cake.

If there’s no competition, why can’t Aldi make a profit?

R 7, I agree.

R. 8. Yes, particularly if they're descended from slaves and have collectively suffered centuries of discrimination.

It bothers me that they don't realize that if they start out with angry threats, they have nowhere to escalate to.

[quote] why can’t Aldi make a profit?

The OP is withholding information.

Ayesha Jaco is too pugnacious.

Aldo was sick of her bad behaviour in the shop.

No, I don't know any more than this. There's one other store in the area- a chain called Save-a-Lot.

An article in Medium suggested these fixes:

Establish bus stop farmers markets. .. Support community gardens

Improve public transportation options. . Implement dollar store restrictions . ... Consider food co-ops, nonprofits, and government-run supermarkets.

Waa, waa, waa!

^ Ayesha uses the words "I" and "my" twenty times in that short video.

These grumpy consumers are BITING THE HAND that fed them.

R5 Is that you, Darfur Orphan?

[quote] "Poor sales performance and increased expenses."

Wonder what the increased expenses were...

More info.

I don't understand d why Aldi should give away the store or sell it at at discount. They operated the store for years at a loss, tried to make a go of it, and finally gave up. Should they never have tried? Because that will be the effect if you start demanding business give their properties away if they can't break even in a food desert. Stores won't even bother to open in the first place.

What a bunch of entitled, whining, fatties!

[quote]Or Mexican fruit and vegetable vendors.

Those would be for-profit.

Another Aldi a mile away isn't terrible. It's not great but it's doable in a crisis. Why couldn't Aldi make a profit? Too much shoplifting? Just an honest question.

Too much shoplifting, too much vandalism and too much attitude.

Have these welfare whiners stopped whining yet?

It’s those blacks… always stealing….

That was the old, fat, femme Lisa. The new butch Lisa loves everyone.

R28 Say it ain’t so. It’s like Abercrombie going woke. I WANT THE OLD VERSION. More dicks than a urinal at the urinal at the Apollo!!

That was supposed to read “more black dicks than a urinal at the Apollo!” Man someone oh dear me.

Garfield Park is Chicago's highest crime area.

Would you open a store there?

Worst part of the West Side of Chicago.

Garfield Park is ultimate Chiraq war zone. The Aldis usually set up shop in latino (Mexican and Puerto Rican) areas in chicago and they are thriving and have been around for years. I dont know when this Aldi opened, I dont remember it from my time in chicago. I dont know what got into them to even try. They might have gotten tax incentives to open a store there but then noted that they need more than 3 or 4 people and lots of security to run the store in that area. The latino area Aldis are pretty calm and safe, the only annoyance you will run into are little kids running around.

The Aldi store model doesn’t fit the neighborhood. They need a store where customers stay outside and give their order to an attendant who is inside behind bulletproof glass. The groceries would be given to customers through a turntable that prevents people from gaining access to the store.

Inclusive of parking and arriving at the front door with the QR code and hand sanitiser, it takes me 15-20 minutes to arrive at my closest grocery store with the best selection of produce. Why can’t a New Yorker hop on a subway or drive a car 20 minutes to fetch their kale and sweet potatoes like the rest of us. Sorry that they all can’t amble leisurely for to a grocery store in the same radius as their daily awful chain store Starbucks and Panera.

That sounds like a gruesome way to shop, r34. Glad that is not how I have a shopping experience. Something like that is truly so foreign to most Americans.

I visited the high school in that area. We were told not to knock, we had to call somebody, so that they can have somebody come down to open the large gate for us. The gates were locked and it was like a prison. After that, we had to scan our bags in the metal detector.

During the Great Recession I was driving a cab in Chicago for a while. One day a fare came iover the radio the woman wanted to go from West Rogers Park to Midway airport. When she got in the cab she handed me a map quest print out of the route she wanted me to take. The route was to take Cicero Avenue from 7200 N. all through the west side of Chicago and end up at Midway. I tried explaining but she wouldn’t have any of it so I said you’re the boss. She said the driver that took her to her daughter’s had ripped her off. As we passed under a railroad viaduct that separates the not so good area from the truly horrible area I advised her to keep her head down and hope that we weren’t struck by random gunfire. Meanwhile the meter was running up a fare higher than what she would have paid to take Peterson to Ridge to LSD to the Stevenson to Cicero Ave, as we were hitting red lights every 1/4 mile. She handed me 70 dollars on a 55 dollar fare.

The woman at R15 loves the DIVERSITY and the RESILIENCY of the west side.

I think both those words are euphemisms for something awful.

R39 diversity? More like slowly deteriorating and infiltrating the nearby suburbs causing people to move.

Love the video at R15....complete with "the black person walking in front of an inner city mural".

R41 “inner city” in Chicago = THE PITS

[quote] Diversity

It's one of those words you use because you're too scared to use the accurate word.

A large and very popular chain here in Fl closed their newly opened store after 3 years because though they automatically have a 2% write off for loss they were running 30% . They even had armed security ,and the hood rats stole them blind.

I wonder if the chick who just quit Harvard will be releasing a statement about breathing in the molecules of this empty Aldi store.

R46 She can breathe all the molecules she wants, but let’s see her reaction if she bought a house in the adjacent suburb down the road and had to pay 20k in property taxes to live near that ghetto to satisfy her woke quotient.

Why is it blacks and their supporters are always "demanding" things from private entities or individuals? It isn't very becoming and most surely tends to antagonize the other side.

From above linked article:

"The groups are asking Aldi to give the building to the community or sell it at a discounted rate so it can be used to attract a local or more socially conscious grocer, Hatch said. The organizations are working with Ald. Jason Ervin (28th) to convince the city to offer incentives that would attract a grocer to the building, he said."

Not only was this Aldi operating at a loss for years, now local residents are "demanding" property be sold at steeply discounted rate, and or simply given away compounding those losses.

Grasp of business affairs these local activists have is staggering.

"The grocery chain also denied it has abandoned the community because it has several nearby stores, including one just over a mile from the one that closed."

[quote] The groups are asking Aldi to give the building to the community. “We really don’t want them, after reaping all this profit off the community, to sell the building for profit to a non-grocer. We want to make sure that is a grocery store,” Hatch said. “We expect the city to work with us. We expect Aldi to just give the building up.”

Why would Aldi give them a free building?!? They’re not a charity. You can’t just ask a business to give their building to you. I’ll ask Costco to give up their building for me so my neighbors and I can have a place to live.

[quote] Another Aldi a mile away isn't terrible. It's not great but it's doable in a crisis.

Isn’t having a grocery store a mile away just normal? I think mine is probably 2 or 3 miles away.

Am sure most on DL know this already, but for those ignorant of fact... Trader Joe's and Aldi are basically same, they are two parts of a family business from Germany.

Aldi Nord is Trader Joe's in USA, while Aldi Sud is just "Aldi".

There is talk Aldi will merge both "Sud" and "Nord" by 2022 to eliminate inefficiencies and reduce duplication.

Someone asked if Aldi stores are "healthy" or whatever. Well they are in same way Trader Joe's supermarkets are in that Aldi also carries lots of fresh fruit and veggies. Also as with TJ's you have to look at Aldi's prepackaged private label things carefully. Some are very healthy options, others not so much.

For many things find Wegman's is better than TJ's when it comes to healthy options for private label things. Wegman's instant oatmeal is one of few can find not loaded with sugar or other sweeteners.

Love all the queen's here aghast that anyone demand a corporation actually act in the interest of a community. Considering they likely get all sorts of tax breaks and write offs and the next to nothing corporate tax they could probably give a few dozen buildins away and not see even a slight dent in profits.

It's unbelievable that representatives of the community think that they have the right to make demands on what type of company can set up in their shitty neighborhoods. This is nothing more than white flight on a corporate level.

R54

This Aldi location opened nearly thirty years ago when area was a much different place. They've kept things going as West Side of Chicago changed around them, and certainly can't be said haven't paid their dues.

[quote]that anyone demand a corporation actually act in the interest of a community.

R54 present the clear and concise bottom line as to why Aldi got the hell out.

West Garfield Park....

More:

I had no ideathat Aldis been around for that long. I love Aldi and drive all over Chicago for them. Thats the one Aldi I didnt know existed.

As of today there have been 344 shootings in Garfield Park, of which 61 have been fatal on 2021.

Aldi opened their first USA store in Iowa back in 1976.

ALDI in Chicago area 1979.

Long common in Europe so called "no frills" supermarkets or grocery stores were something new to USA.

Looking at economic conditions of 1970's (stagflation and so forth) along with emerging but growing "green" or whatever movement (Hippy-Dippy is what one often heard adults use when was a child).

You brought your own bags or boxes (something long normal in Europe, and still is done today by all sorts of supermarkets, grocery stores, etc...), which cut down on waste.

There wasn't huge array of many things, in some cases only a few and what there was often store/private label brands. Oh and things came in larger bulk packaging as well.

One of my aunts sort of fit that whole "hippy-dippy" green, organic thrifty demographic. She was always bringing cereal and other groceries from these sort of Aldi type stores to our house. Mother of course graciously accepted (it would be rude to refuse), but we kids largely wouldn't touch the stuff.

Recall some horrible granola/muesli type cold cereal that we kids weren't having. We wanted our usual corn flakes or Frosties... A hate ensued resulting in a standoff, that's when Dad stepped in with an ultimatum; we could either eat the stuff before or after a date the strap.

More:

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

Why is this even a thread on the DL with over 65 posts?

This is just a whiners tale.

Folks in the Dakotas & other places have to drive over 30 miles for a hospital, grocery, gas, vet, etc.

R67, unless you're talking about rural people who are poor and live in a high crime areas, the two situations are not equivalent.

That said, rural food deserts exist and threaten the health of residents.

These "activists" have learned over the years that demanding things works very well, and whitey will wring his hands and beg forgiveness and throw money at them.

You get more of the behavior you reward. This is the result.

You ain't getting eighty-eight cents out of me Rose.

Supermarkets often leave low-income neighbourhoods because there’s too much shoplifting going on.

[post redacted because independent.co.uk thinks that links to their ridiculous rag are a bad thing. Somebody might want to tell them how the internet works. Or not. We don't really care. They do suck though. Our advice is that you should not click on the link and whatever you do, don't read their truly terrible articles.]

Having seen the amount of "shrink" that goes on at my local store (and their unwillingness to do anything about it), the prices on everything else just gets jacked up. I'm all for heavier security, but the same people losing their minds about wearing a mask would go apeshit if they had to wait to get into a grocery store and were subjected to closer inspection of what they buy.

This is also happening in European cities and in the same type of neighbourhoods.

What do they think Aldi is, a social service? They expect everyone to just open stores there at a loss because they “should”?

Certain demographics engage in behavior patterns that end up hurting the entire community where that the demographic lives , these core behaviors include

Shoplifting

Robbery

Illegal Drug Use and Distribution

None use of contraception and abortion services

Refusal to go to school

Refusal to follow basic medical guidance on disease prevention

Lack of overall emotional intelligence

I think some of the residents have a lack of sophistication and knowledge of negotiation. What gets people to pay attention? Protests and threats. They don't realize that they're creating sympathy for Aldi, who should have given the community notice it was leaving and let them vent or have time to get the city to propose subsidies. Aldi has just thrown a bunch of people out of work during a pandemic as well as making it harder for senior citizens to get food. (There's a WIC depository run by Catholic Charities on the same block that has food for pregnant and new mothers and kids up to age six, which is specified by the WIC statute.). I don't know what the alderman was thinking. This is the kind of crap grandstanding that makes Tucker Carlson, the Daily Mail and DL's knuckle draggers salivate.

Better things/businesses come to certain neighborhoods to help make life better...then a lot of the residents ruin it. The business suffers and the neighborhood suffers. It seems to be a cycle...a lack of respect or appreciation. Do the people really want a better life for themselves, or is it just another excuse to whine and bitch about being forgotten and cry racism? It's a no win situation. I try to understand, but it's hard. It's hard to give a shit about this anymore.

Why can’t Aldi just give them the building for them to turn it into a soup kitchen or food pantry for the poor? Give back to the community, Aldi, instead of just take and take.

Then you do it, R80. Start a store, buy the real estate, then just hand it over to the community. Where's your commitment? Let me guess, you're going to make up a bunch of bullshit, then point your fingers at how someone else should do that. Lame ass mother funcker.

R34, you're really onto something! I didn't read the whole thread so I don't know if you've been told this ten times already since your post. That's a damn good idea. Most people know how to order groceries online now, or learned on the fly during covid, or know someone who does know and can help them.

R80, there is no shortage of empty buildings in that area or property that the city sells to community developers for $1. if they approve the plan. The city is free to buy the building from Aldi and give it to a developer for $1. Rush Pres St. Luke's Medical Center, whose doctors are on hand to protest, can do the same. Aldi sells food with a low mark-up. They are not the bad guys.

I resent the protesters saying that Aldi created a food desert, It alleviated a food desert for 25 years and supposedly never made a profit during that time.

R34, not so fast. Bulletproof glass is an "indignity" that should be banned, at least according to this Philly councilwoman a few years ago:

[quote][Councilwoman]Bass says the windows only foster a sense that the establishment – more specifically, its clientele – is dangerous. And that too many of those stores masquerade as eateries when their biggest sales draw is alcohol, feeding vices in the city's struggling neighborhoods.

[quote]"It's an indignity" to buy a meal through such a window, she said.

[quote] Bass says the windows only foster a sense that the establishment – more specifically, its clientele – is dangerous.

Because the clientele is indeed dangerous.

There is no real food desert, you just get on a bus or the subway. I live in Chicago and do it all the time.

It's just being lazy. Half these people don't even work, they have nothing to do all day, they could walk five miles and back for lack of anything better to do. And YES, when I was poor I walked that far to the store and back rather than spend the money on the subway.

If your community won't support its business...Well as the ghost of Christmas Past said, "These are but reflections of things that have been, they are what they are, if they are not to your liking don't blame me."

What was the result of the bulletproof glass ban? Businesses can’t put them up anymore? Won’t there be lawsuits when someone gets shot?

I think the bigger idea here is the community needs to learn to fish, rather than being given the fish and then being offended when the giver tires of it and goes where the relationship is actually mutually beneficial.

People need to be weaned off SNAP.

R20. The mention of the renovation of the Aldi in the Island section of Austin is a red herring. The Island is a small set of blocks south of the Eisenhower and bordering the racially mixed suburb Oak Park (where I grew up). The Island is predominantly white, with a large population of Chicago cops and their families—its where city employees live who want to be as segregated as possible while still meeting residency requirements. It is hardly hospitable for black shoppers.

I live 1.25 miles from our supermarket. I don't drive. I walk there to do my shopping and carrying things home.

A litte excerise for these people would do some good.

[quote]It is hardly hospitable for black shoppers.

In what way?

R92 it’s not behind glass or free

r32 Bad Bad Leroy Brown was from the west side of Chicago. He wasn't fucking around with Aldi. He had a razor in his shoe.

I have no issue with people who use SNAP cards in times of need, and I'm not going to get into a big back and forth of what is and is not acceptable use of government aid to buy food because there are too many variables. There are people who fall on hard times for whatever reason, and maybe they just hit shit, and need something to get by. Fine. Maybe they are never going to get off assistance because they just aren't, there is not a way out for them. I fully understand that, and am not going to argue against it.

That said, there are some very real issues within the system. Every single person who, without question, and wants to pretend all of the poor people are angelic in need of simple kindness should be required to go grocery shopping in "urban" areas just after the 1st and 15th on a very regular basis, for years. Let us know your full report of that experience.

There’s a K-Town in Garfield Park so it’s not all black.

R95 If I only shop on the 1st and 15th do I get my lobster and maple syrup free?

If you're payment comes through on those exact days, then go for it. I'm not sure those items qualify under SNAP, but I've never been under government assistance, so ask someone who has been for a more accurate account. If you think I'm lying about what goes on, start shopping in areas you are afraid of.

I have to laugh at the fresh fruits and vegetables in the food deserts. No one wants to eat those things, they want meat and starches and fat. Just throw that spinach in the trash, no one is going to eat that crap.

[quote] Maybe they are never going to get off assistance because they just aren't

If able people are unwilling to leave the nest on their own, they need to be nudged out and become comfortable taking care of themselves.

It baffles me that they think a business should just give them the store, that’s a new one.

What about community gardening, is that an option?

R99, yes, people of color do eat greens, fresh fruits and vegetables. That includes a lot of recent Hispanic and Caribbean immigrants, and people from the Indian subcontinent. They are freshly arrived from a culture where it is more normal to cook than to pick up junk food or frozen food. The women -- and many of the men -- may travel quite a distance on trains or buses to find places that sell the food they're looking for. The same goes for many Asian immigrants.

I see these people all the time on NYC buses and trains, traveling with bags laden with the greens, vegetables, and other raw materials for the traditional foods they cook.

The idea that if you have to travel more than a few blocks to get the food you want it's "racist" is absurd, yet it is taken VERY seriously by "progressives."

But then Westsiders will just start shoplifting from the co-op until their inventory goes bust, and the hippie idiots will finally see how it feels to be bitten by the hand you're trying to feed.

R100 I was referring to people who really, truly are not going to able to live without assistance. It is a very real thing in the areas I'm referring to. There are people, that really, truly don't have other options. I'm referring to actual cognitive and/or physical disabilities that are not going to overcome regardless of financial, physical, or therapy. It's just the way it is. It's a real thing, and you see it and interact with it a lot if you live in certain neighborhoods. There are some who probably make their situations worse with booze, or whatever, but that is honestly the least of their real world problems. Those people I absolutely give a pass, and I do pretty regularly buy things for those when I can.

The rest.... Unless you're on my good side, not so much.

[quote] It baffles me that they think a business should just give them the store, that’s a new one.

Because they have to give back to the community as a thank you for all the community has given them. It’s a quid for tat.

[quote] I live 1.25 miles from our supermarket. I don't drive. I walk there to do my shopping and carrying things home.

The same thing was said about Walgreens closing in SF. How will the poor people survive now??

R105 Retailers don't owe the community jack shit. It's a business, and they're free to leave anytime they see fit. Let the West Side trash wave their picket signs, hurl their woke insults, and re-elect their crooked machine aldermen. These human garbage have no clue that they are the reason for their own economic destruction, and it's pathetic to watch them flail around blaming everyone else.

R106 They'll just steal from the next-nearest store.

What are they gonna do? Boycott?

Where I live, I have to drive to the nearest supermarket. The one's I usually shop...two are over six miles.....the other one, at least five miles. There's a community farm, down the street, where I'll buy vegetables, fruit or milk/orange juice. Other than that, every place you have to drive, or take public transportation. It's not a hardship.

I figured R34's idea would be panned by a few in or (likely) outside of the community, R84--then let those people build and run a store. I imagine the people who live in that community who actually cook would rather have a place to pick up groceries in the neighborhood one way or another than no place at all, and a reasonable person will recognize that is alternative.

Are the people who make a stink about stores that have bulletproof glass-- do they actually live there? Are they in the same income-bracket as the poor in that community or are they black and/or white gentrifiers who can afford the luxury of a home security system and the ability to travel across town for groceries at a bougie shop? Because if it is those people, please do not feel the need to take up the mantle for the poor who truly live AS poor people in the community. The voices of the actual poor are often drowned out by these do-gooders who don't have to live the same way.

I'm white, grew up in the poor side of town in the 90s. There was a public pool in my neighborhood that had been the blacks-only pool back in the day, but post-segregation, it was all our pool and all us kids spent the summer day as it was either free or $1 depending on the day. We all walked to the pool and back home, about two miles, usually in our swimsuits, some of us without shoes.

There was a much nicer public pool in the middle of town (and the "rich" had the pool at the Club if not their own) but the pool in the middle of town cost $ and was a few more miles away. Once or twice a summer, we would be so lucky as to have someone's parent or sibling drop us off at the fancy pool, if we could scrounge up the extra dollars, and we'd all just walk the four miles home.

Our pool, George Washington Carver pool, had a leak, not a big one (if there was one at all) but it drew the ire of our city commission. Our dumbass "progressive" mayor, Alan Jilka, country clubber, said the best thing to do would be to CLOSE THE WHOLE FUCKING POOL DOWN since it was a painful reminder of the past to those of us who lived in the neighborhood.

BITCH PLEASE!

We loved that pool. We needed that pool. That was the only nice thing we had that was our own. They filled it with concrete and raised the price of the fancy pool so there was barely a chance in hell us kids from the wrong side of the tracks would be able to foul the water with our presence. Thanks a lot, asshole. See what I mean? Some little fucker who never had to do without anything gets to decide what's in the best interest of the poor and all his country club friends were soooo proud of him for filling in the Jim Crow pool, they didn't even even think of how that would affect US, except to make sure we couldn't go anywhere else.

FUCK THESE PEOPLE. IT IS ALL ABOUT THEM. IT IS NOT ABOUT THE POOR OR DISENFRANCHISED.

Anyone who doesn't actually live in Chicago would never understand the mentality of the city. Its insane. Property taxes, insane. City stickers (yearly stickers to drive in the city), insane. City and county taxes, insane. Gas prices, parking ticket and speed camera fees, cost of food, insane. "Unknown" ethnicities..... car jacking, shooting and killing, driving through the front of Dior, Armani in stolen cars or large groups storming a store and running out with whatever they can carry, etc. Police don't even come when called anymore. The same people actually arrested for doing all this shit are released an hour later and back on the street doing the same thing. Mayor, chief of police, State's Attorney, Attorney General, President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, all black. Call me racist, but it is what it is. Great city 30-40 years ago. So much fun. Now it really does suck!

r99 I'm not rich and I eat spinach, kale, fiber, healthy stuff every day. I grew up in a 1950's style meat and potato house. My partner forces me to eat real food so I don't get fat and die. If you restrict fake garbage food, real food starts to taste good. Like anything else, people need to learn how to eat properly, have some guidance. I'm blaming the parents on this issue. Every issue.

I just we’ll just have to go Oak Park and steal. 🤡

If you liken yourself to these residents and say "I have to drive blah, blah miles," your situation isn't analogous at all. You put your parcels on a truck. Try riding on the bus with them.

There are nutrition classes for those who have time to take them and boxes of vegetables from Chicago Botanical Garden, which is outside Chicago.

I mean, in a trunk, not a truck.

r111 Chicago needs more money to set up special commissions to study these problems. Give them more money now you racist. If people like you stopped complaining and being all racist and aggro, and started paying a measly 20 percent more in property taxes, these commissions could attract (and compensate) the kind of quality board members required to figure out what the problems are.

One commission on promoting black awareness of hair equality only cost 600k and came up with some solid conclusions. Another on encouraging and supporting barbershops and beauty salons only took 4 years, and barber shop profits are expected to go up once Corona is gone. Start thinking globally, act locally by chipping in and paying your fair share.

Because the food desert thing is utter horse shit. I have one grocery store about a block away, but outside of that there are more than a dozen grocery stores, including a large farmer's market, a Costco, a Whole Foods, an Aldi and several normal type grocery stores, all of them are within less than a mile to under half to 2-3 miles away, and all of them are on bus routes.

If you want change, stop lying about what is really going on.

^^^ Love you R116

I know this is about Chicago, but issues goes far and wide. Go look-up the Kansas City, MO school board and Kansas City government. Go back and look at it since the 80s, and tell me the problems going on are due to racism.

"I take the bus, why can't they?" is not a good response for people on welfare or the working poor. And if you're near a Costco, you don't live in West Garfield.

No need for a commission; all the local universities and med center have been working on this for years.

If Aldi doesn't want to be there, I doubt if any other grocery would and certainly these protests are not going to entice another business into the area.

I think a food pantry is the only feasible solution. And it probably needs to be on a truck and go block to block.

R120, a food pantry where they give the food away? I vote no, I want R34s store. If I want a bag of pasta shells and a box of pancake mix, a sack of apples and a 32oz canister of Folgers, then that's what I want. I don't want ten pounds of potatoes and three pounds of onions and a cantaloupe from the farm, and I don't want a half dozen cans of pork and beans and a sack of flour and three cans of tomato paste from the food pantry. Not that I wouldn't appreciate it, but I want what's on my list, and I would pay for it. I would be damn mad if some fake woke person took that right from me because THEY found bulletproof glass metaphorically distasteful, ergo, food pantry/community garden only.

[quote]"I take the bus, why can't they?" is not a good response for people on welfare or the working poor.

Why? Are their ass cheeks jewel-encrusted Faberge eggs, too special to be sullied by sitting on a bus seat with the rest of the working stiffs and the retirees? Are they delicate hothouse flowers, needing to be coddled every moment of every day?

It's the financial expense of busfare for seniors on fixed incomes and people scraping by until the end of the month.

Really? And how do you know that, specifically, R124? Because those poor don't know how to manage their budget and can't figure out how to make that food dollar stretch? Is that what you're saying?

Then continue to answer, how much do you care about seniors in the same financial situation, but live in very rural areas? And before you answer, you should know there are more black people who live in rural areas than you realize.

If the presence of a grocery store doesn't impart the knowledge to have fruits and vegetables daily as some studies, I would start giving away bags of apples and green juice.

R126, you don't get it. These poor oppressed people are hungry, yes, because of food deserts. They are starving. But they're not "eat an apple" starving or anything. That's just crazy talk.

I promise you if you distributed free apples to all the people crying that they're being starved out, 85% of them would be winged right at your head.

I was once a cashier at a slightly upscale grocery in a nice neighborhood. It was connected to lower income areas by bus lines, so we had a wide assortment of customers, plenty of them with SNAP or WIC.

When people make non-thrifty purchases with EBT cards, people notice and remember those. However, most customers with EBT shopped like other customers. Some buy a lot of canned, boxed and frozen food, with little fresh food, just like regular customers. Some of the immigrants with EBT bought the healthiest foods; they hadn't yet learned bad American habits, I assume. Some of the older black ladies with EBT were good at shopping clearance items. Occasionally the butchers would clear out their freezers, and a bunch of sausage that was close to sell-by date would be put out with clearance stickers. Those ladies would snap all those up, some for themselves, some for neighbors. Lower-income Latinoa housewives, cash or EBT, worked sales and coupon deals like fiends. I once dealt with a young black women who bought more than the balance on her card and then gave me attitude when the sale didn't go through. I remember one gargantuan white woman who'd buy junk food for her kids with her EBT card; she came in every few weeks. Those were the only EBT customers I resented. Mostly they're just regular customers.

R119, Don't get me started on the shithole called KCMO! I usually refer to it by its nickname Killa City.

The fat whiners of Chicago need tough love.

Blocky, red characters painted on the rafters implore: “Be self-reliant, work arduously” and “Use your own two hands to have ample food and clothing.”

It's hard to pick my favorite food dessert, but probably strawberry cheesecake.

R131 When I want my favorite dessert, I DRIVE to go get it.

When I want my favorite dessert, I bake it. I serve my carrot cake with some sort of fruit I get from the 'farmer's market' as well as yogurt I mix up myself.

When I went my favorite dessert I grow and mill the flour myself, pesticide free and organic! 🤡

When I want my favorite dessert (chocolate chip cookies), I go to the farm in my backyard and pluck some fresh wheat and grind it into flour manually, milk the cow to make fresh butter, pluck some fresh sugar canes from the garden where I grow it organically, and harvest some cocoa beans from the cocoa tree in my orchard to make chocolate.

I am being haunted!

Aldi's leaving is a symptom of other problems. "West Garfield Park, the city’s most dangerous community area, has experienced a per capita rate of shootings nearly 20 times higher than downtown, according to the Sun-Times analysis of city data."

R111

Yeahbut Chicago does have some beautiful pre and even post war buildings.

R137 Does the gentrification go to Sacramento now? So that’s like like 30 block belt of no go. Come on DLers, we got to conquer the new world!

If the activist are concerned about a lack of food for residents, there was actual was to make change that don’t rely on demanding Aldi give them a building (lol) or stay in an u profitable marketplace. Why not work with one of the many nonprofits in the area to make a food pantry? Why not do a go fund me and raise funds to buy the building? Why not arrange car pool services for the elderly people who cannot walk an extra mile to the store? Or demand the city (who, unlike a private company should listen to demands) provide free bus passes for low income people.

If this is an actual concern and not just a chance for grift, then have a plan that actually makes sense.

I remember about 10 years ago or so the NY Times did a couple of articles about East Harlem, and a program at Mount Sinai, a hospital in the neighborhood, and attempts to improve healthy eating in that area, a food desert with high rates of obesity and diabetes. The problems are multi-dimensional, one of which is the culture of the neighborhood, largely Latino, that relies on beans and rice and flour as staples of their diet. I recall the article discussing the challenges of getting more people to eat salads. While some progress was made among women to eat more salads, the men in the area were resistant to eating salads as it was considered a feminine meal. Even amongst the women, they would joke at women for eating rabbit food and would look down upon men who ate salads.

I'd be curious to know how the produce section at the recently closed Aldi in Garfield Park did in terms of selling product, and who did buy produce and consumed them at home.

There's your answer right there, R140. This is a longstanding grift, and it works. Cry racism, get $$$ "for the community." It goes into the pockets of "activists," but no one cares, as long as people mouth the usual "evil whitey is sorry for ruining another black neighborhood" tropes.

R141 But that is part of the issue. Why get Latinos to eat salad? Surly their are various latino meals that are healthy. You have to work with peoples culture, not away from it.

R143, because white female progressives know best. They get salad every day at Panera, and see how successful they are? Why can't these Latinx people learn to eat salad too?

If you want Chicagoans to eat salad, the best bet is to park it between a hot dog and a bun. Or on an Italian beef sandwich.

[quote] They get salad every day at Panera

all wrapped in throw-away plastic.

Aldi now seems to be specialising in small portion, instant meals with lots and lots of plastic.

Around blacks, never relax.

r144 Exactly. Latinoxes need a role model like white women had with Seinfield's Elaine and her "big salad". They smother it in ranch dressing, it's like a fucking smoothie when they are done adding ranch and bacon/cheese bits to it.

Are those Latino immigrants obese in their home countries? If not, then the traditional foods are not what's making them fat

I think this news story answers the perennial question of why it's hard to persuade capital investors to go into this area or others like it. You're going to suffer losses, be denounced when you leave and asked to turn over your property to the community. Similarly, gentrification is bad although it does bring in new businesses and better schools, it bears a long-term risk of forcing residents out. If you bring a grocery store in, and there's no proof it improves people's diets, what apart from giving people prepared healthy meals can be done? You can't force them to eat it. I'm not attacking the residents--I'm frustrated because I don't see a way out.

Why on earth don't people want to open food stores in certain neighborhoods? It's just so puzzling.

Food deserts are a myth. You don’t actually have to go to a grocery store anymore when you can simply order everything online and have it delivered.

Does Amazon not deliver in Chicago? Hello Fresh? Instacart? I didn’t realize the city was so provincial that delivery services don’t exist within its borders.

R153, is it not apparent that we're talking about a slum area where people can't afford Hello Fresh or Instacart?

Why doesn’t the city set up a private bus system to drive these people a mile down the road to the next Aldi? Or pay for their Uber? Or maybe Oprah could donate a million to buy the building.

R155 The region already operates a public bus system.

And Oprah? Since when does she give a fuck about poor people?

The alderman could arrange a bus for seniors once or twice a week. It's been done in other wards.

R157 The Aldermen of Chicago don't arrange for shit unless they get a piece of the action first.

Seriously, half of them will call paramedics for an OD'ing hooker only if they've fucked her first. And they'd be sure to take back their cash before they wheeled her into the meat wagon. Pigs.

Ayesha has the situation under control.

Ayesha is a philanthropist, educator and choreographer,.

Ayesha is also an expert in "Food Equity" and "Comprehensive social services"

R153 That would be a good solution, however. These activists should work with the government or the companies to offer free grocery delivery, perhaps once or twice a week.

[quote] free grocery delivery, perhaps once or twice a week

Where's my FREE grocery delivery?

I don’t think the grocery delivery needs to be free. Usually when you spend $50 or more, the delivery fees are waived anyway.

If someone was spending $50 at Aldi each week, I don’t know why they wouldn’t have the $50 to spend on Amazon.

[quote] TJ's when it comes to healthy options for private label things. Wegman's instant oatmeal is one of few can find not loaded with sugar or other sweeteners.

It's still garbage. All grains are. They're not fir for human consumption.

"If someone was spending $50 at Aldi each week, I don’t know why they wouldn’t have the $50 to spend on Amazon."

What is it about poverty you don't get?

Wasn’t this an episode of Good Times?

Why don't they just walk to the other Aldi if it's only a mile away? Get some much needed exercise. Even old grandmas did that back in the day, pushing their carts to the grocery store a few times a week.

[quote] Why don't they just walk to the other Aldi if it's only a mile away?

Because they are so used to having everything handed to them that they can’t do anything for themselves. [See Hurricane Katrina]

Guess the government will have to step in and provide, then.

This reminds me of the time Pathmark built a superstore in East Harlem. It’s gone now; there’s just a big empty home where it used to be, and that block is like a zombie apocalypse movie. I don’t know what happens to the small businesses like the delis and bodegas. Do people refrain from stealing from the mom-and-pop stores? Do they steal from the big box stores because “they make so much profit off us they can afford it”?

^^ hole (not home)

Anyway, this is why people can’t have nice things.

[quote] Do people refrain from stealing from the mom-and-pop stores?

The dynamics in mom and pop stores are different. Jewish and Korean owners watch black customers like a hawk, even at times following them around the store, and that’s caused a lot of problems, but their stores don’t have as much loss. Plus some of them keep a gun behind the counter.

R51, the opposite actually happened with Bottom Dollar - a former discount food chain that was later bought out by Aldi. They opened 3 locations in Youngstown, one of which on the South Side which was a definite food desert. The city practically gave them that particular location for free and then they just up and closed shop not long thereafter. They should definitely be giving that back to the city instead of squatting on the property, which is what they are doing.

The other two locations I wouldn't consider food deserts per se, I would say it was more of an issue with them trying to compete with Giant Eagle and Walmart locations right nearby them.

If they really want healthy food then they should get Whole Foods to open up there. Fresh and organic too. You really can’t beat the quality, or the price.

Pathmark in East Harlem, NYC.

That Pathmark closed as a casualty of parent company A&P filing for bankruptcy.

Extell (who never misses a chance to do full block development in NYC) bought the site at 160 Eest 125th street, They are planning a mixed use building, offices above retail and word is latter will be a supermarket.

Truth to tell that Pathmark never quite fulfilled its promises. Yes, it was a gift of sorts for those in East Harlem, but on many levels the thing just never met many expectations.

[quote] What is it about poverty you don't get?

What is it about passivity you don't get?

Welfare-dependence breeds passivity.

Latest:

If only they had taught their children good manners…

None of their community-driven solutions sound very good. Community gardens and urban agriculture aren't going to work in winter unless the agriculture is hydroponic.. The Black-owned Ma and Pa store will be less able to sustain losses than a large chain., and will not make a profit on fruits and vegetables. Everyone is concerned about senior citizens but no one can be bothered to actually interview one. The resident they do interview is complaining about inconvenience--he can no longer run into the store on a whim and now has to plan shopping trips and take an uber--not a bus, an uber. No one's attempting to find out why Aldi couldn't make a go of it and why other grocery stores don't want to relocate there. These businesses are not opposed to making money so what is the problem? If it's crime and theft, why not discuss that?

[quote]The Black-owned Ma and Pa store will be less able to sustain losses than a large chain., and will not make a profit on fruits and vegetables.

Then why not subsidize them? I think most people would get behind that. Lift the community by supporting those already "in" the area who have the drive and ambition to succeed.

Necessities like fruits and vegetables should be free. They should only charge for Oreos and shit.

I agree, R181, but then who pays the person who grew the fruits and veggies and the people that got it from the farm to the store? You'd have to have a program that pays those people somehow since they're not going to do it for free.

There's no "veggies" in Datalounge!

Create a discount fruit and vegetable storefront that only takes Snap vouchers.

[quote] Necessities like fruits and vegetables should be free. They should only charge for Oreos and shit.

'Shit'?

You can get that for free in any public toilet

I love people like R180 who say things while having absolutely no idea what is going on, and how current government assistance works in the United States. I have not doubt this big bag of bullshit will gain traction among the internet progressive types.

If a huge, global corporation cannot make profit at the location, what makes you think a privately owned store can? It’s hardly “sudden” if the store had been there 30 years.

Also, because of aggressive marketing and chemical additives, most people have been trained to demand “ready to eat” fast or prepared foods- cheap and flavorful and brand names, Aldi and Trader Joe’s don’t offer this. Cooking vegetables from raw requires hour of prep and patience, most people on public assistance aren’t going to shop this way or don’t have the means to do so. This is a multigenerational thing now, parents have been giving in to kids eating unhealthy for decades.

The only way it changes is if you are already overweight or have health issues.

Hard to make a profit when all your customers shop with the five finger discount - OKAAAY

OP, everything about your story is about passivity.

All your suggestions encourage passivity and leaned helplessness.

Do you have any idea how much champagne cost these days??

“Tax the stupid people!”

Some people in poor communities don't even have access to a way to cook fresh vegetables or keep things cold. Not everyone has a Datalounge kitchen with stainless steel appliances and granite countertops.

All apartments have refrigerators, sinks and stoves.

R192, all apartments don't necessarily have *working* refrigerators, sinks, and stoves. Now, whose fault that is can probably be split 50/50.

[Quote] R192, all apartments don't necessarily have *working* refrigerators, sinks, and stoves. Now, whose fault that is can probably be split 50/50.

🤔

If my stove stopped working, I would call the landlord. If it wasn’t fixed in a timely manner, I’d call the city. Pretty simple.

But this talk of whether or not people would buy fresh produce isn’t getting to the heart of the issue here. Why did Aldi close? What factors caused this to happen and how can they be addressed so another grocery store can take its place?

[quote]If my stove stopped working, I would call the landlord. If it wasn’t fixed in a timely manner, I’d call the city. Pretty simple.

Actually, not that simple. There is an infamous case where a couple had an nonfunctional stove for two years. The stove was actually a hazard and the gas had to be turned of to the apartment. They finally got fed up and bought a new stove. They were successfully evicted for tampering with the landlord's property. The fact that they had been without a stove for two years was irrelevant. Clearly the city had no real teeth when it came to replacing the stove if the landlord could drag it out for two years.

Having just permanently left two decades in Chicago, I can confidently say their grocery stores are all sub-par. Mariano’s and Jewel have the largest selection, but the produce is terrible and lines are outrageously long. Whole Foods hasn’t been decent in over a decade. The grocery stores in my flyover town are more upscale.

R54...The Aldi Corp. owes nothing to this community, absolutely nothing. Especially not the donation of a building they own or the sale of a building they own at a discounted rate. Aldi moved in with good intentions of doing business & proving the availability of food to the community & essentially got kicked in the camel toe for it. I don't blame Aldi one bit for finally getting the hell out of a very single-sided relationship. This community only has itself to blame for not having what it needs to survive. Neighbors & decent community members need to stop turning a blind eye or encouraging criminal behavior of their sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, neighbors... They truly are the citizens at the mercy of these criminals & the resulting consequences of what they choose to justify/ignore. This is an internal issue, not an outside-boogeyman-is-screwing-us-again issue.

[quote]Some people in poor communities don't even have access to a way to cook fresh vegetables or keep things cold.

What bullshit.

Aldi's gave away food that was left in store after sudden shut down of this store.

[quote]Have you been to Darfur?

I have r3! The grubs are delicious but the dung is barely edible.

R191, you must be new here. DLers don't have stainless steel appliances and granite countertops which are signs of being middle class and even worse, flyover. Next you'll be saying that people should be draining pasta!!

You mean learned. Get those cliches right.

An update in Block Club

Madeline Martin, 62, used to go every morning to the Aldi at 3835 W. Madison St.

The short walk from Martin’s West Garfield Park home made carrying groceries back easy, and prices were affordable. Each morning she’d pick up, “my coffee, bread, cereal, milk for my grandbaby and just the basic needs that I need.”

But the store abruptly closed in early October, leaving Martin without a convenient place to get fresh food.

“I was so disappointed. When I seen that they were moving stuff out, I thought they were going to remodel it or something. But no, [it] was closing permanently. And I’m left wondering why,” Martin said. “This is the neighborhood grocery. And it’s been missed.”

On Saturday morning, Martin was among those who returned to the closed store’s parking lot as community organizations provided food to 250 residents. Many of the people picking up food were older and live at one of four senior centers within a block of the closed Aldi.

Essie Brown picked up the last two bags of food — filled with a whole frozen chicken, ground beef, rice, bread, celery, lettuce, apples, oranges, carrots, spinach and one big pineapple — and hooked it to the back of her electric wheelchair.

Brown routinely picks up groceries for neighbors at her senior home. Not having Aldi has made the task harder, she said, as West Garfield Park now has only one grocery store: a Save-A-Lot at 420 S. Pulaski Road.

“Some people can’t go down there,” Brown said. “It’s a lot of senior citizens around here [who] can’t get out. They don’t have no way of getting out. … No way to get food. It’s a big problem.”

Organizers said Saturday’s “emergency food distribution” is only a short-term Band-Aid to an urgent problem: There is a food desert in West Garfield Park.

“There’s a strategic starvation on the West Side of Chicago,” said Mercedes Pickett, founder of local nonprofit Earth’s Remedies, which partnered with Garfield Park Rite to Wellness Collaborative, West Side United and Rush University Medical Center to give away food. “Some individuals don’t have access to transportation. Walking out of their homes to an affordable, healthy option is key. Aldi’s was that.”

An Aldi spokesperson told Block Club in late October the store was closed due to “consistently declining sales and the fact that we’ve operated this location at a loss for several years.”

Neighbors said the move left them in the dark.

“It was without any communication to the community about their plan to leave,” said T.J. Crawford, executive director of Garfield Park Rite to Wellness Collaborative. “While we haven’t planned for this, we are responding because it’s necessary.”

Crawford said the emergency food distribution was sparked by community members rallying Oct. 29 outside Aldi’s headquarters. They want a new grocery store to take over.

Crawford said Aldi representatives have “stonewalled” his communications and local leaders “have not responded in a real way.”

“We want to get this building now. Get a community-centered and -endorsed grocer that will provide the food and service that Garfield Park community deserves,” Crawford said. “Food is medicine. Food is a key component to good health.”

David Ansell, senior vice president for community health equity at Rush, said food deserts on the West Side are driven by structural inequality and systemic racism. Ansell, author of “The Death Gap,” said life expectancy is 14 years shorter for residents of the area than for people living in the Loop.

“You would never turn the electricity off in the community, you would never stop pumping water. Fresh food can be the difference between life and death,” Ansell said. “When you have a multinational corporation sneak out in the middle of the night and stop a lifeline to a community — it’s an act of violence.”

The emergency food distribution will continue Fridays or Saturdays for at least the next six weeks, said Rachel Smith, program director for social work and community health at Rush University Medical Center.

“I think it’s really important for people to see, when you shutter something that’s so vital to the community, the ripples and the shockwaves are immediate. And that’s what you’ll see with this line of individuals here to pick up food,” Smith said. “If people don’t have the right resources in one community, if it could happen here, it could happen anywhere across the city.”

The 250 food bags were gone in less than two hours Saturday. Martin was grateful to get the food — but dearly misses her favorite store.

“I thank God for the community, for the people feeding the community. Because there’s a lot of people that’s hungry,” Martin said, raising her grocery bag. “And this here, this will help out a whole lot of families.”

You don't need to go to the grocery every day to get coffee, milk, bread and cereal unless you have a family of 10. Again, the rhetoric is that people are starving but the examples are of people who can no longer buy groceries on a whim.

I'm absolutely fine with creating a free food program for seniors. I do think the "you're killing people" argument has to be closely scrutinized. It would be good to know the types of losses Aldi had and what could be done to prevent them. What kind of incentives ae necessary to attract a comparable business?

This has NOTHING to do with ALDI and everything to do with creating a soapbox for aspiring politicians. Most grocers have razor thin margins and the company should be lauded for providing for over 30 years. Also a hiring squeeze, a Coronovirus shutdown and running a store at a loss ISN'T RACIST. Making it a racial issue is actually diluting true racism and equality, folks.

R204, R205 Madeline Martin, Essie Brown,,Mercedes Pickett, T.J. Crawford are passive whiners.

[quote] T.J. Crawford are passive whiners.

T.J. Crawford looks very well-fed here. He's not suffering from any bizarrely-named "food desert". He's been eating very successfully.

That report posted at 203-204 is a big bag of bullshit. I do feel for seniors and others who can't get out about to do their shopping, I will bet most of the people making this an issue are not in that situation. If these community activists, why don't they organize something to either take these shoppers to the next closest store and/or offer to pick up and deliver groceries to the people in those circumstances?

And Save A Lot is the closest store to me, it's sort of like an Aldi/Trader Joe's that is at least as cheap as those options, if not cheaper certain circumstances. Like any other discount grocer that has their own brands, some of their own foods are not great, some are actually quite good, but they also frequently have "name brand" options. You aren't going to starve to death or die of malnutrition shopping there.

This whole thing is so stupid and obnoxious.

[quote] Aldi is healthy????? How?

How is it not? They sell everything. Even organic.

[quote] R. 8. Yes, particularly if they're descended from slaves and have collectively suffered centuries of discrimination.

Jews had it worse and longer. Cut the crap.

Essie Brown is a little old lady who delivers groceries to other seniors on the back of her motorized wheelchair. She has a legitimate beef.

What is this woman doing about all these helpless, passive, whining citizens demanding to be fed?

The woman who invented the term "food desert" (and I guarantee you it was a woman) has never been to Sahara Desert, the Gobi Desert. the Nullabor Desert, the Kalahari Desert, the Arabian desert nor the Syrian desert.

People who abuse the language need to be abused.

They're passive whiners and can't spell the word "right".

Because, I suppose, spelling is racist (groan).

There is a certain brand of liberals that truly live in a fantasy land where if people are just given a helping hand they’ll take it or won’t destroy it. You have to face reality at some point. Calling for farmers and shit is just ivory tower nonsense. It’s like reparations - they’d spend the lot in ten seconds on lottery tickets. This is what happens when you coddle people and make excuses for them. Giving them extra points on tests is also a slap in the face - it’s telling that that you’re too stupid to get in on merit. But again, it’s not their fault. Then liberals wonder why things continue being the way they are and have to twist themselves into a pretzel to explain it away. You aren’t owed an Aldi. Get your shit together.

Look at this man's belly.

He's complaining at having to live in a "food desert".

[quote] Considering they likely get all sorts of tax breaks and write offs and the next to nothing corporate tax they could probably give a few dozen buildins away and not see even a slight dent in profits.

Oh, look, it’s the shithead that screams that vandalizing stores is meaningless because said stores have insurance. Fuck off, shit-for-brains. No one owes you anything.

[quote] If my stove stopped working, I would call the landlord. If it wasn’t fixed in a timely manner, I’d call the city.

Whoever made this statement has never dealt with any city government about an issue in the slums in their life.

[quote] Some people in poor communities don't even have access to a way to cook fresh vegetables or keep things cold.

I guarantee they have 72” televisions.

[quote] No racist comments, please

I suspect you're being provocative, OP.

You ask that we ignore race yet the participants in the video are wearing clothes that demonstrate their choice to separate themselves from mainstream society.

They choose to be in a 'apartheid' by their wearing clothes announcing their fidelity to Muhammud over any fidelity to the nation in which they live.

I feel bad for the seniors who lived near the Aldi and have limited mobility to go further. But the activists complaining about Aldi leaving don't seem to have a lick of common, practical business sense and seem to think Aldi was a social work agency/community service organization first, and not a business in any way.

R213 Shutterstock/black-person-standing-in-front-of-an-urban-mural

[R213] Shutterstock/black-person-standing-in-front-of-an-urban-mural

The people of Garfield seem not to have heard of the maxim "Beggars can't be choosers"

[quote] Considering they likely get all sorts of tax breaks and write offs and the next to nothing corporate tax they could probably give a few dozen buildins away and not see even a slight dent in profits

I'll tell you what, Aldi is paying taxes on that building. They can pick other abandoned buildings in the area. Had they been smart they'd have asked Aldi for the refrigerators, freezers and shelves. Aldi may have been able to be convinced to lease the store to them for a low cost. But NO, they had DEMAND that Aldi give them the store

And trust me, if Aldi gave them the store, a bunch of the Food Desert complainers would have probably found a reason to sue Aldi

Aldi is busy opening, planning to open, and or renovating stores in Chicago. They can easily move fridges, freezers and other things to other local stores. No need to sell, donate or otherwise dispose of anything, well not unless corporate decides it wants to write things off.

R172, Whole Foods is ridiculously expensive and not the type of place that should be opening in a lower income neighborhood.

I can easily walk out of other grocery stores and farmers markets with 2-3x the amount of food for what I would have spent at Whole Foods.

Here in Florida, the supermarkets like Publix are razed like clockwork after 30 years and completely redesigned. Aldi closing an aging store is likely because it’s too expensive to retrofit an older one and they can rebuild another that runs much more efficiently- designed for today’s HVAC and storage systems and redesigned traffic flow inside the store, and has insulation, glass and roofing that is LEED complaint and saves energy. Again, margins are razor thin and today’s stores require far less staff than even a decade ago. A modern, “floating roof” store would also have better designed security and with no support beams, better monitoring against theft, older stores have hidden spots and weird corners. New stores attract a wider audience.

I would be in the same position these people are if the grocery store around the corne except that I would have five choices all at least six blocks away. These result would be more planning, much more inconvenience, more time devoted to grocery outing, more expense, more walking in shitty weather, Yes, I could switch to Instacart and Amazon Fresh but both are very expensive--markup on each item, plus tip and other costs. I would not be dying of pellagra and scurvy but it sure would suck. I think no one is crediting the inconvenience these people face because of the hyperbolic food desert rhetoric that has been bandied about. If my grocery closed up, another would rush in to take its place. It's doubtful that one will want to go into Aldi's space if they're seen as a social service agency, I think the people who are able-bodied and making the median income or near to it can deal with the inconvenience, shitty as it is. The challenge is not painting everybody with the same broad brush and identifying those who can't shoulder the hardship. Seniors and the disabled at the front of the line.

I know in my area there are rides for seniors. Chicago doesn't have this?

If they want these businesses to stay in the neighborhood, then they need to come up with constructive ways to stop theft.

R228, Whole Foods isn’t THAT expensive. In fact, I really think they’ve lowered their prices quite a bit since Amazon took over. (You also receive a lot of extra discounts as a prime member.)

I do 90% of my shopping at Trader Joe’s, but Whole Foods isn’t so bad.

Chicago has door-to-door service for disabled seniors. I don't know if it's free or reduced fare. They also provide a discount cab rate for seniors with disabilities.

Whole Foods also has a lot of prepared food for them if they’re too busy to cook and a fresh salad bar and hot foods bar. Plus all the fresh fruits and veggies they could ever want and best of all it’s ORGANIC and gluten-free.

My mother was home bound and had Meals On Wheels, the meals were hot, large enough for a day’s worth of eating and they had an emergency meal stocked in her fridge.Instead of going after a giant corporation, politicians should be lobbying to expand this life giving service.

I ordered everything else through Shipt and had it delivered. If you want to blame anybody, blame the kids that abandon their elderly parents.

I say they demand Jenny Craig supplies dinners for everyone.

Sun Times weighs inAndy Brandt has lived in East Garfield Park for 15 years. He and his wife, Amy, have two children — a son and a daughter. And like every family, they have their favorite grocery store: Aldi.

The Brandts had two in their neighborhood: one at Chicago and Kedzie avenues and one on Madison Street, both just about a mile from their home.

“My wife and I joke because we call the one on Madison my Aldi and the other one on Kedzie was her Aldi,” said Brandt.

But as he and his daughter approached that store one day last month, he noticed the sign had been removed and no other cars were in the lot. A week later, Brandt learned “his” Aldi, at 3835 W. Madison, had closed for good.

While Brandt said even though “it’s not a big deal” for his family to shop at the other location, other residents might not be able to switch so easily — which is concerning to him in an area that lacks enough healthy food options, a persistent problem on the South and West sides.

An Aldi spokesperson told the Sun-Times it was a “difficult decision” to close the store.

“We take the closing of this location very seriously. Our decision was based on several factors, including consistently declining sales and the fact that we’ve operated this location at a loss for several years,” the statement continued. “Poor sales performance and increased expenses have simply made it unsustainable to keep the store open.

“We have been proud to serve the residents of the West Garfield Park neighborhood over the past 30 years, and we thank our customers for their loyalty.”

The spokesperson also noted the Aldi at Kedzie and Chicago is “just over one mile” from the one that closed.

Jesus Ramirez crosses the street while holding two bags of groceries during a grocery distribution event outside the closed Aldi at 3835 W. Madison St. in the West Garfield Park neighborhood, Saturday morning, Nov. 6, 2021. Jesus Ramirez leaves the parking lot of the former Aldi store in West Garfield Park with two bags of groceries after community activists, upset by Aldi’s decision to close the store, organized a food giveaway over the weekend. Pat Nabong/Sun-Times But community leaders said Aldi’s decision exacerbates their concern about “food deserts” — areas where residents lack access to many items sold at full-service grocers, especially fresh produce.

The Food Empowerment Project estimates more than 500,000 Chicagoans, a majority of them Black, live in food deserts. Another 400,000 live in neighborhoods with plenty of fast-food restaurants — but no grocery stores nearby.

Aldi was one of only two supermarkets in the West Garfield Park neighborhood — the other is a Save-A-Lot at 420 S. Pulaski Rd. Convenience stores in the area offer some food but lack fresh produce.

West Side United, Rush University Medical Center’s Health Equity office and the Garfield Park Rite To Wellness Collaborative gathered outside Aldi offices at California and Granville in late October to protest the closing. “Shame on Aldi” read one sign at the protest.

The decision to close the store is “the latest example of corporate/community malfeasance that seems to intentionally harm a neighborhood whose residents are fighting for survival,” T.J. Crawford, executive director of Garfield Park Rite to Wellness, said in a statement.

People wait in line for free produce at the former Aldi in West Garfield Park. Rite to Wellness on Saturday handed out the free produce in the parking lot of the closed store. People wait in line for free produce at the former Aldi in West Garfield Park. Rite to Wellness on Saturday handed out the free produce in the parking lot of the closed store. Pat Nabong/Sun-Times Activists hand out free food on Saturdays

The organizers want Aldi to meet with community leaders and the city to discuss the closure and, if Aldi won’t reopen, they want to buy the building for $1 and open their own fresh produce provider at the site. Over the weekend Rite to Wellness handed out fresh produce in the building’s parking lot. The group plans to continue the “emergency food distributions” outside the closed Aldi on Saturdays through Dec. 18 (except Nov. 27).

“Access to food should not be a privilege,” said Julia Bassett, manager of Health and Community Benefit for Rush. “If I have access to Pete’s Fresh Market or Mariano’s or Whole Foods, so should everyone else, including those in this community.”

Many of the Rush employees and medical students at the rally have seen firsthand how lacking access to healthy food affects their patients.

A volunteer carries bags of food during a grocery distribution event outside the closed Aldi at 3835 W. Madison St. in the West Garfield Park neighborhood, Saturday morning, Nov. 6, 2021. A volunteer carries bags of food during a grocery distribution outside the closed Aldi at 3835 W. Madison St. in the West Garfield Park neighborhood on Saturday morning, Pat Nabong/Sun-Times “If they have heart disease, for example, part of [their] treatment is healthy eating,” said medical student Marissa Pharos. “It’s cutting back on sodium, it’s cutting back on that fast food. You can’t do that if you cannot find a grocery store that provides healthy food. So this doesn’t just impact the community as far as finding food, it impacts their health long term.”

But some saw the supermarket’s closing as inevitable.

WVON Black Excellence Hour radio host P. Ray said she used to shop at the store at least once a week, but said the parking lot outside sometimes felt unsafe.

“It’s not feasible for a corporation to function in a space like that,” Ray said.

For Brandt, beyond Aldi leaving, companies that refuse to consider the community as a place to do business in the first place is a major concern.

“Something needs to be done on the political or community level,” Brandt said. “And by the same token, I wonder: is Aldi the one really responsible? Is the one chain that actually was in the neighborhood, but has since left, more responsible for the problem than any of the number of chains that have just never come to the neighborhood at all? I don’t know that I fault Aldi for that, but it certainly is a problem.”

Pay the local convenience stores to sell packaged salads, fruits and vegetables.. Let them keep all the profits. Problem solved.

A majority of users here are horribly ignorant when it comes to what this type of poverty is like. You can tell when you see comments about ordering food online, thinking a bus trip cuts it, etc. Just saying, don't expect a sympathetic crowd. On the otherhand, you have the peppered in dreamers thinking the average person could pay 20% more in taxes to support the poor neighborhoods (something like 80% make under 100k per household), or that the building should be free -- free to do what with it?

Idk of a grocery store cheaper than Aldis and food prices are going up astronomically, therefore an affordable replacement is very unlikely (lol at suggestion of a Whole Foods). Just 1 loaf of cheapest bread at my local grocer rose to $3 overnight. There's a reason social security is raising payments by 6% and that won't even cover the inflation headed our way.

Transportation wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't time consuming and difficult for hauling around a weeks worth of groceries. Lol at the suggestion of instacart, like people can just pay an extra $50. Also pretty shitty to say the eldery can just eat meals on wheels from now on instead of getting to pick up items they enjoy.

But I digress... this is America, where being poor always means having to be punished because it must be a sign of a moral failing in life.

Really what should've happened here is that Aldis could've at least talked to the city about getting help with staying profitable enough before giving up with little notice. It's weird they didn't give a real answer to why they were performing so poorly, when they must've had business. Was it thefts? Was it dead half the time? Was the building costing too much? I suspect it's more that they didn't make enough to want to keep it open. Doubtful they were losing money or this would've happened sooner.

You know why they won't say why that store was performing so poorly. We all know why it won't be stated. You are correct in some of your statements, but off base in others. The main one being that the government should step in to make that Aldi location more profitable.

All of you recommending packaged foods don't understand the restrictions placed on certain types of packaged/pre-made foods that are not covered by SNAP (food stamps). This a very real reality to the stores and customers in these areas. I'm not judging, but to ignore it is showing you don't know what is going on with all of this.

Hey blacks, stop stealing if you expect stores to stay open in your violent warzone neighborhoods.

I spent a year working at a charter school in West Garfield Park about four blocks from this Aldi. A week did not go by where I didn't hear gunfire or see someone knifed walking to and from school. One of my co-workers was attacked by a student who used a brick to crush the teacher's skull. The neighborhood was a horror then and is a horror now.

I used to shop at an Aldi on Austin and about Division Street. It was a rough neighborhood but it was on the Oak Park Side of the boundary. The store was always crowded but there were other stores in the area including Food 4 Less. Aldi doesn't owe anything to these communities. But the city needs to step up and come up with a solution for food deserts..

I enjoy going to Aldi once in a while , but Aldi stores in the U.S. are geared towards lower middle class to poor people with their huge frozen pizzas and bags of snacks and boxes of cookies. They do sell a limited assortment of organic produce, gluten free etc but overall the products resemble a 7-11 not a health food store.

[quote] They do sell a limited assortment of organic produce, gluten free etc but overall the products resemble a 7-11 not a health food store.

That’s why they need to go to Whole Foods for organic and gluten-free and vegan.

What some of you don't realize is that fresh produce is often a loss leader for supermarkets and other shops. You can include packaged salads, fruits, veggies, etc... in that group as well.

They all have finite shelf lives and often if don't look perfect customers won't touch. In end more than many would think is thrown out daily as trash. You only have to pass dumpsters or other trash put out by places to see bags upon bags of various produce waiting for collection.

There is a reason why stores like CVS, Walgreens, and others don't do much fresh veggies or fruits. Frozen things of all sorts, yes, but they have longer shelf lives.

Back in day when a small mom & pop grocery store was often the only game in town or whatever they could move more fresh produce. But today between people legally or illegally selling same from street carts, Amazon and other online along with other sources, it is a big inventory risk.

There is also fact despite all the moaning and whinging many people in certain communities do *NOT* eat as much fresh produce as they should. This even when local markets do stock sufficient supply.

[quote] There is also fact despite all the moaning and whinging many people in certain communities do *NOT* eat as much fresh produce as they should.

That’s why education is key. Tell people about salads. Print up flyers or something. The Got Milk campaign got people to drink milk. They could do the same for veggies here.

[quote]That’s why education is key. Tell people about salads.

That would be a great job for Kamala Harris.

[quote]That’s why education is key. Tell people about salads.

I thought Michelle Obama did that?

[quote] I enjoy going to Aldi once in a while , but Aldi stores in the U.S. are geared towards lower middle class to poor people with their huge frozen pizzas and bags of snacks and boxes of cookies.

Not true. You sound fat.

She promoted healthy school lunches and was pilloried for it.

I had no idea there were so many restrictions on SNAP vouchers, which not only bar purchases of soda but also hot and cold prepared foods like rotisserie chicken or sliced melon. As someone pointed out above, that means having convenience stores sell packaged salads will not help everyone.

The govt need to exempt vegetables and fruits from the SNAP ban so people can buy deli coleslaw or fruit salad. And I agree that a lot of messaging is needed.

FWIW, I've received SNAP benefits and was able to buy prepared salads and rotisserie chickens. What I could not buy were hot individual meals, ready to eat. So, if the store had a deli, I could not buy a hot cup of soup or hot meal for one. I could buy prepared salads out of the deli case or in the produce department. That was years ago and the rules vary by state.

If you want to encourage healthier eating by SNAP recipients, see if these guys or similar would be willing to hold seminars.

[quote]That’s why education is key. Tell people about salads.

Millions have been wasted on this fantasy. It has never worked. Food is deeply rooted in culture. It isn't just a matter of getting people to each vegetables, there is also the matter of not cooking them to death. Fresh vegetables are somewhat over rated. Frozen vegetables are often just as good. Fresh or frozen, it is an uphill battle to get people to each broccoli or green leafy vegetables. They are far more likely to eat lima beans or corn.

Then there is the problem that poor people need to feel full, if not stuffed after a meal. Mentally, there is the fear that any meal could be the last; so, they need to stock up on as many calories as possible. Because of this, poor people are far more likely to have Stove Top Stuffing doctored with a cheep animal protein than a meal of fresh vegetables and fruit.

Also, poor people eat for pleasure because the have so little pleasure in their life. When I worked in a food bank, people would pass by the fresh fruit and vegetables and take three day-old sheet cakes that had been donated by the local grocery store. They did this because the cakes brought them joy. Nobody has felt joy over Brussels sprouts.

There's another Aldi's a mile away. Shame on these fucking cunts for even uttering the words "food desert'. They aren't in a food desert.

These people are a lying bunch of grifters. It's no wonder that when I clicked on R215's link and saw lots of churches involved in this scam

These people are throwing fits because they don't have a grocery store around the corner from their houses? Shame on them

R256, I lived in a industrial loft area years ago that was a food desert until it became more gentrified. I did not have a car and had to take public transportation several miles away to get food. I could only manage it once a week. I was able to manage but I was young, and healthy. It's nothing I'd want to do now, factoring in Chicago winters and the current crime wave on public transportation. Also, money was tight but nowhere as tight as these people's circumstances. I would not want to put the elderly or anyone with disabilities through this.

Anyone with a car or the money for Uber, however, should STFU,

Elderly European women cross their city on the bus with their little carts on wheels to do their shopping for a whole week. Bunch of wimps Americans are.

R257, how sad your comment is -- saying that it's unreasonable to ask people to travel a mile to a grocery store because of the crime wave on public transportation, and the store near them closed down because of the crime wave.

Something tells me that Aldi is not the actual problem here.

The actual problem is crime in that area, which is why Aldi left and why taking public transportation especially at night is not an attractive option. That's also why cabs and delivery services are a long shot.

:"in West Garfield Park, it was about one shooting victim for every 98 residents for the time period' Nov. 8, 2021

[quote]“Access to food should not be a privilege,” said Julia Bassett, manager of Health and Community Benefit for Rush. “If I have access to Pete’s Fresh Market or Mariano’s or Whole Foods, so should everyone else, including those in this community.”

This delusional bint is demanding a Whole Foods for these people and the entire country

I live 15 miles from a grocery store. These are just a bunch of lying grifters

Also, a third lack internet access; about half the wage earners earn less than $25,000; forty five percent do not have a vehicle. Small merchants incurred losses of 75 percent after the lootings following George Floyd's murder. However, Aldi was unscathed because it was boarded up and shuttered.

[quote] Elderly European women cross their city on the bus with their little carts on wheels to do their shopping for a whole week. Bunch of wimps Americans are.

I saw this in Scotland. Those old ladies would be out at the bus stop waiting in their tartan skirts and wool pullovers . They’d get on bus and ride to get their groceries.

[quote]“Access to food should not be a privilege,” said Julia Bassett, manager of Health and Community Benefit for Rush. “If I have access to Pete’s Fresh Market or Mariano’s or Whole Foods, so should everyone else, including those in this community.”

Yes, Julia Bassett. If people living on the Upper East Side have access to the Van Cleef & Arpels, Tiffany, and Cartier flagship stores, so should everyone else. If people living in Malibu have access to the Pacific Ocean, so should everyone else. If people living in Orlando have access to Disney World, so should everyone else.

And I should have access to Chris Evans' ass and Elon Musk's bank account. All we need is someone to make all this happen.

You'll have a Starbucks and a Panera, or some other chain sandwich/coffee shop way before you see a Whole Foods come to a neighborhood like that. Then guess what happens when places start creeping up on the scene? Then it becomes gentrification. And then it starts again.

There is a very deep dark part of what keeps this shit going, and I'm not talking about capitalism in and of itself. There's a creepiness going on behind the scene that relies on suffering.

This has nothing to do with billionaires, R264. They are the least of the problem. This is something that has been going on forever.

What’s wrong with gentrification? If it can clean up the neighborhood and bring businesses back then that’s a good thing. Create a thriving neighborhood instead of a crime-ridden hellhole even Aldi wants to avoid.

I’m reminded of the Tenderloin and how it was picked by Neiman Marcus, Cartier, Nordstroms, Tiffany’s, and Macy’s as the neighborhood to open shop. But the residents revolted and said they don’t want gentrification so all these businesses set up shop in Union Square instead. Today Union Square is where everyone goes and the Tenderloin is a scary place people want to avoid. Tenderloin could have been upscale like that but they bit themselves in the foot.

R267 I'll take gentrification over this warzone any day. Their schools are violent shit-holes, and their parks are full of drug dealers, and they can't even keep a grocery store in business without epic shoplifting or robberies. Old ladies can't walk down the street or open their front windows without putting up bars first.

What the FUCK kind of "community" are these people trying to save?

There are a few legitimate issues with gentrification. People who are living in areas that suddenly become "welcoming" to others become expensive. Not just the new establishments, but the tax assessments go higher, sometimes a lot higher than they were. If you are someone who has owned a house outright for years, you could be in for a rude awakening. Same with renters, even if you have a good landlord, if the taxes on their building go up by several thousands within a year (that really does happen), then guess what? The renters are going to see an increase in their rents. Same with businesses in the area that have been around for years, decades even. This is a real thing, and I do think there is an argument for certain interests to be grandfathered in with regard to tax increases when there is a massive change in a neighborhood.

That said, yes, there actually is a benefit to gentrification. The conversation around all of this has become so crazy it's like we're working backwards.

As an example, I sold my house in a "sketchy" neighborhood a few years ago. This all happened within this century, mind you. My property tax was $500 a year. A year after I sold that house, things changed dramatically in my area. That isn't why I sold, it was just happenstance. I was talking to someone I knew from that neighborhood. Their taxes went from $1500 to $5400, from one year to the next. Even for people who are fairly well-off, that's not nothing. That's pretty dramatic. And this was/is a neighborhood with a large number of "economically challenged" peopled. These things do happen.

So do you regret that you sold? If you waited one year you would have hit the jackpot.

Sometimes, but it's a long story. Like everything in life, it was a trade-off. It was a 120 year old house that while it was very cool, and very cheap, and a whole lot of fun, it also came with a whole lot of baggage.

I was as not expecting Coivd, or a price increase in housing across the US after that hit. So, yeah, that part I regret. Not that I could have sold it for more money, more in the sense I wish I would have stayed put.

Yeas Bitches! Aldi is open in Rehoboth Beach!

R240, I know there's actually a wait list for Meals On Wheels, it's not really meant for able bodied, affluent or younger, and they also provide an important connection to the elderly that are isolated. If she didn't answer the door for her delivery they called me immediately.

The quality of the food rivaled most local restaurants, the drivers were wonderful and the program addresses an individual's dietary concerns. My mom actually lost weight with their services. That said, she also always had a fully stocked pantry as well.

Grocers aren't the only business facing this kind of upheaval of how people shop nowadays, and the elderly aren't the only casualties of the sea change our society is dealing with right now.

Why don't we insist the government underwrite typewriter, porn and film processing shops too?

The shoppers in that neighborhood are not choosing Instacart instead of Aldi. We don't know why Aldi incurred losses but one of the articles mentioned crime, which is rampant in that neighborhood. We don't have the full story but this is not an affluent neighborhood where people have multiple options. Major grocers have declined to open stories in that neighborhood, including Walmart, which has opened stores in underserved areas of the city.

[quote] We don't have the full story but this is not an affluent neighborhood where people have multiple options.

There's another grocery store a mile away. This is Chicago. They have public transit.

I'll reserve my pity for people who actually live in food deserts. And where they don't have public transit

The people that they interviewed for this were jackasses. Straight up jackasses. The one lady who "likes to shop daily". She doesn't want to be like most of the country who has to shop once a week. She wants her own personal grocery store

Or the man who "There's my wife's Aldi's and my Aldi's". The stores are the same distance from his house and he's mad "his store" is closing and he'll have to go to his "wife's favorite Aldi's", less than a mile away

These people don't live in a food desert. 99% of them are just too lazy to go a mile away for groceries. Some of you fools are ridiculous. Ooh, they can't be expected to go a mile for groceries. How dare anyone expect them to take a bus. They deserve a Whole Foods. They deserve free groceries

I really wonder if some of you aren't on crack

Yet more outrage, this time from state senate....

I wish they hadn't played the food desert card, which is absurd. The state senator said this is an issue of mobility and convenience, and she's right. However, the demonstrators have acted in a way that will deter new business from coming in, and the home-grown solutions that are being championed are inadequate. I don't think these people are screaming for carrots and apples. I think they miss being able to have a choice of frozen pizzas, ice cream and inexpensive wine. I don't begrudge them that, but that's not being acknowledged. The reporting of these stories is unbalanced , and, apart from the one little old lady in a motorized wheelchair, no one they interviewed seems to be anything more than inconvenienced.

[quote]But the residents revolted and said they don’t want gentrification so all these businesses set up shop in Union Square instead.

If it's fine for these ghetto residents to say they don't want gentrification and don't want more affluent white people moving in... it should be just as fine for white suburbanites to say they don't want lower-class blacks moving in.

R278 Chicago has a transportation program for that little old lady in a wheelchair

Paratransit is a reservation-based or "demand-response" service in which a passenger must reserve a ride in advance. They also operate a fixed route system, which is entirely accessible to people with disabilities. It's a bus system that only provides rides for the disabled and elderly citizens. They are little buses and pick the people up from their front door

And it's FREE

They even have Pace Dial A Ride program with $2.00 or less taxi service

The one condition is that they have to reserve the ride at least a day in advance

Ayesha Jaco is at the centre of this farrago

R240 Why is it Aldi’s job to reach out to the city to prevent a food desert? That is what city governments are for! If the city really cared about the issue, they would approach Aldi directly.

And, if these people actually cared about the food desert, they would protest the mayor. But, they won’t do that. They want whatever little political kickbacks they can get and as such don’t dare complain about the people who can actually solve the issue.

R281 I know people like this who like to say they're an activist and philanthropist, and that they are just such GREAT people who help their community. Except they spend most of the time assuage their narcissism like this woman.

She should spend less time worrying about her ostentatious clothing choices and amateurish art, and go help out at a food bank regularly.

That fat bitch in R281 would benefit from living in a food desert.

Activist = unemployed attention whore