Food Desert In The Community

Soon after the tragic May 14, 2022, Tops Massacre, the New York Times published an article describing Buffalo’s Eastside as a “food desert.” At the time, I scoffed at the term, dismissing it as an exaggeration. With the community’s well-known struggles with obesity, the label seemed ironic. I even wrote a column condemning the notion.

I was wrong.

Today, three years later, Buffalo’s Eastside is unquestionably a “food desert.” With few exceptions, most inner-city discount stores, like Family Dollar and Dollar Tree, have disappeared. Midsized supermarkets such as Save-A-Lot have shuttered their doors, leaving fresh food miles away from those without transportation. It’s a dire problem, and yet, it seems no one is talking about it. Have you heard any mayoral candidates addressing this crisis?

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines food deserts as areas where low-income people lack easy access to large food retailers. In 2019, 96% of people living in food deserts—an estimated 51.7 million Americans—resided in urban areas. According to the USDA, an urban area qualifies as a food desert if at least 500 people or one-third of the population live more than half a mile from the nearest food retailer.

The Eastside’s Decline The question now is: what can be done about it? Sadly, the answer seems to be “not much.”

Some of the blame, uncomfortable as it may be, lies with our own community. No food business wants to operate in an area where theft and crime undermine profitability. Businesses need to make money to survive, and frequent thefts make it nearly impossible for them to sustain operations.

Why would anyone want to open a store in a community where, during a major snowstorm, their business could be looted and destroyed by a few ignorant individuals? That’s exactly what happened during the Christmas Blizzard of 2023. Many businesses on Buffalo’s Eastside were looted and vandalized—and some never reopened. It was an absolute disgrace and left an indelible black mark on the entire community.

A Grim Outlook If I were a conspiracy theorist, I might see this as a harbinger of the third horseman of the apocalypse: famine. Think about it—if food stamps or Social Security benefits were suddenly cut off due to a national calamity, such as war on American soil, where would poor people turn for food?

It’s unthinkable here in America, but not impossible. With a single stroke of a pen, resources could vanish. If it came down to choosing between feeding wealthy individuals or poor Black communities, who do you think would be prioritized? Just sayin’.