A 2013 study highlighted the lack of access to affordable healthy food in the city.
Written by Reading Eagle
Reading developer Alan W. Shuman’s plan to turn a former car dealership on Lancaster Avenue into a shopping center with an anchoring grocery store would fill a much-needed void in a city where “food deserts” are common.
“Food desert” is a government term for a neighborhood where, because of a lack of nearby supermarkets or because of difficulty in reaching them, some families had limited access to healthy food.
Sam Loth, coordinator of the 18th Wonder Improvement Association, a nonprofit organization created to develop and manage sustainability and prosperity in the city’s 18th Ward, said the association supports the development.
Loth said a grocery store is desperately needed in the area. He noted that the development is within walking distance to the Oakbrook Homes neighborhood, which is home to several hundred families.
“The idea of putting in retail and anchoring it with a food store is excellent,” he said.
While corner stores are staples in many neighborhoods, a 2013 study highlighted the lack of access to affordable healthy food in Reading, where residents are more likely to have to walk, not drive for such purchases.
The study linked the lack of access to affordable fresh produce to health problems from heart disease to diabetes.