nearby grocer sues food pantry for giving out free food

[Liberal_in_LA]

Outside the Apostolic Ark Pentecostal Church's food pantry, folks are lined up with their empty canvas totes to pick up enough meat, fresh string beans and canned staples to get them through the next few days.

From the back to the front of the line, just inside the doorway, where these groceries are doled out, this huddled mass waits about half an hour, shuffling in the cold. Nobody in the crowd makes eye contact. It's as though the gray pavement and their feet are the most fascinating thing. And it doesn't matter how polite Pastor Rosie Morris and her flock of helpers are. Standing on line, hopping from one foot to the other to stay warm is a mixed bag. Food pantry customers feel demoralized and grateful for this handout.

-------------------------

No one is inside this small bodega, save for its owner, Emmanuel Dieujuste. Not a single customer. Dieujuste blames it on the church's food pantry, a newcomer on the block.


"Free food is a wonderful idea. There are lots of people around who need it. And I'd have no problem with it if it were any place but next door to me," Dieujuste fumes. "But this pantry is taking away my customers -- people who were coming to me until that opened. What's more, when I signed my lease, my landlord promised me that no other competiting food place would ever open. And now this. He's breached our contract. That's why I'm suing him and the church's food pantry."



Read more: http://www.ctpost.com/default/article/Not-on-my-block-An-inconvenient-food-war-1340273.php#ixzz1JjXX9XmX

[bluestateguy]

1. Then lower your prices buddy

No fucking sympathy for this whiner.

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

4. umm.... how low can he lower his prices to compete with free??

[bluestateguy]

7. Again, that's not my problem

that is somebody else's issue.

[pipoman]

40. Actually that is HIS issue

all this hatred for even the smallest of business here is unbelievable. Depressed neighborhoods are forever bitching that they can't get any businesses in their neighborhoods. Now we have people like you siding with the lying slum lord who leased this guy his location, likely breaking the lease will cost the guy his business and his investment. He should just suck it up, close his dirtbag business, and go to work at Wal-Mart like all the other low rents, right? That is what you are saying in essence isn't it?

[tblue37]

8. Another nearby grocery store does okay, despite the food pantry, though business is down

for them, too. But this suing guy's prices are higher, and he is not as nice to people:

Even with the Malineses working seven days a week, like Dieujustice, business is down. "Things are bad," Malines says, "business has dropped 30 percent a week over what it was last year, and that was down, too."

Even with the Malineses working seven days a week, like Dieujustice, business is down. "Things are bad," Malines says, "business has dropped 30 percent a week over what it was last year, and that was down, too."

The Malineses don't buy Dieujuste's argument that the food pantry is responsible for his lack of customers.

"He didn't have a lot of traffic from the beginning," Malines says, <emphasis added> handing an empty-handed customer a grocery bag to take to the food pantry, who claims Dieujustice turned him down when he asked for a grocery bag without buying anything. "There's stuff you do as a merchant because you have to. But there are a bunch of things you do that you don't have to because it's the right thing to do for your customers, whether they buy from you or not. People appreciate that kind of thing. You treat somebody bad once, they remember that for a long time."

Read more: http://www.ctpost.com/default/article/Not-on-my-block-An-inconvenient-food-war-1340273.php#ixzz1JjdmnqRA

[anneboleyn]

32. Why don't the republicans' beloved rich people support local businesses?

Hmmmmm. And I thought the rich supported other entrepreneurs and created jobs and so on.

[JVS]

34. The rich people live miles away and don't want to go to the ghetto to shop in a small bodega.

[WatsonT]

52. When free food in these areas wipes out local businesses

then something happens that forces the free places to shut down (whatever that may be) then things will get really fun.

[Duer 157099]

2. You have to be pretty low to sue a food pantry

talk about the lowest of the low!

[pipoman]

39. You did see he is suing his landlord and the pantry

His landlord assured him when signing his lease that he wouldn't rent to a competing business. He likely had to sue the food pantry to bring them into the suit but the final decision will rest on if the landlord violated the lease agreement by leasing to the pantry.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

50. A food pantry is a charity/not for profit.

And therefore would not be considered a competing business. Dude, you couldn't possibly honestly think that unless you're a few fries short of a happy meal. Really!
Duckie

[Devil_Fish]

3. Must be a republican. I bet he sells bottled water too. NT

[Critters2]

5. Wow. Our food pantry is right across the street from the IGA,

which always has bags of staples made up and placed near the front of the store, that you can buy right there and donate to the food pantry. The IGA is also one of the largest contributors to the food pantry. I'll thank them next time I'm there, for not being jerks!

[bluestate10]

18. The situation in mixed, or high income neighborhoods is vastly different

from the reality in poor neighborhoods. In poor neighborhoods, food banks that hand out large amounts of food do compete with markets. There is no easy way to resolve the dilemma, people can't be allowed to starve because they can't afford to buy food and pay for other life needs at the same time. But if markets are not developed in poor neighborhoods, the poor that can afford to use markets are forced to travel to markets that operate in more affluent neighborhoods, increasing the cost of feeding themselves and putting themselves at more of a disadvantage to affluent shoppers.

[KurtNYC]

57. small markets here rely on sales lottery scratch off tickets, beer,

and cigarettes for their rent and wages. Basically they sell things that churches don't give away. And they all accept WIC.

Sadly that might work for the store in this article also.

[Liberal_in_LA]

35. This morning, my local grocery store was allowing a food pantry to have a large table out front

They handed customers a list of things they needed, which we purchased and dropped off at the table.

[Le Taz Hot]

56. That is a great idea!

Talk about a win/win situation.

[Ian David]

6. IMHO, he has cause of action against his landlord, but not the food pantry.

The food pantry is not responsible for assuring the terms of the agreement between the grocer and his landlord are adhered to.

Equitable relief would be for the landlord to provide the grocer with space in another property, plus the cost of moving expenses.

[pipoman]

41. I think he had to bring the food pantry into it

because if he didn't it would take a separate action by the landlord to evict the food pantry if the store owner wins his case. This could take months. If the judge rules against the landlord, he/she may order the pantry moved immediately.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

51. Um, competing business would be another market...

...not a charity/not for profit who provides food for people to SURVIVE. There IS a difference.
Duckie

[Ian David]

53. So, he's admitting that his targeted audience is poor people who can't afford his food. n/t

[wellstone dem]

9. It would make more sense that he has a right to be let out of

his lease. It is not his landlord's fault either. (whoops just read the article and saw that the pantry is in the same building, not a next door building---probably does have a claim against the LL.) Though frankly I don't buy that the reason his sales aren't better is because of a food shelf. These people didn't have money to spend at his store anyway. He might do better to complain about cuts in food stamps. These cuts affect the poor, the grocers, the farmers.

[Odin2005]

10. This selfish sociopathic fuck needs to get a swift kick in the balls.

[tavalon]

11. That is just about the way I feel about it

[WillowTree]

15. Yes! Absolutely! God forbid he should make a living.

[Odin2005]

16. It sounds like he is just using the pantry as an excuse.

More than likely he is just an asshole that can't admit that he ran his own business into the ground.

[bluestate10]

20. You could be right. But the grocery business is such a low margined business

to start, that running it into the ground is easy. A typical supermarket makes it's profit off high margined merchandise that is purchased by affluent shoppers. The grocer beside the food pantry does not have premium packaged goods, assorted sundries, meats, seafood and baked goods to provide a profit margin for him, so that he can lower the price of the items that people in his neighborhood can afford to buy. The issue is a tough one, no one should be allowed to starve in a society, but failure of markets in poor neighborhoods adds to the decline of buying power of people that live there.

[Incitatus]

37. Truel. A lot of items such as bread, milk and eggs are sold at or even below cost.

They are loss leaders and are intended to attract customers that will buy other items that will make the store a profit.

[Name removed]

21. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[bluestate10]

27. You are being cynical. But, without knowing more, I can't pan the grocer.

Poor neighborhoods don't have grocery stores. City governments in urban areas have spent decades working to get big grocers into poor neighborhoods as a means of reducing food expense for those neighborhoods. If a big grocer does agree to come into poor neighborhoods and takes a reasonable loss prevention action, the DU crowd goes ballistic on that grocer.

[Incitatus]

36. God forbid poor people should get free food

[gratuitous]

12. More political meddling by a church

Waiting for the usual folks to show up to explain in detail why churches need to be taxed. Imagine, feeding the hungry! For nothing! A blatantly political act, and that bunch of meddlers should be run out of town or taxed out of existence.

[tkmorris]

13. If this was all churches did I'd have no problem with that

This is charity work, and I agree that shouldn't be taxed. Other activities, well, not so much.

This seems quite a bit aside from the topic at hand though so whaddya say we return the thread to that?

[Odin2005]

14. At a coworker of mine's pentecostal church they have a food pantry open to all every Wednesday.

You don't have to be a member of the church, or even a Christian. Just show up with a photo ID at 1PM and you will get some really good food. I get food for there myself and my coworker's grandmother is the secretary there.

I may disagree with their social conservative views, but besides that they are decent folks.

[gratuitous]

22. This is what most churches do

And I'm sorry you're all in a twist, but it similarly bothers me when the bigots and the nitwits come out of the woodwork to advocate derailing my eleeomosynary activity without lifting a finger to help.

"Political" activity isn't confined to candidate endorsement, but candidate endorsement by any non-profit is already forbidden by federal law. Feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, clothing the naked, and visiting the sick and imprisoned are all "political" acts in that they work against the political and economic interests of someone. You might as well do away with all non-profits under the constraints some folks would impose.

[bluestate10]

23. The church is doing the right thing, what is being done is what churches

of all types should do. The circumstances are difficult circumstances. The church is doing it rightful duty, but failure of grocers that operate in poor neighborhoods ultimately adds to the cost of living in those neighborhoods. It is possible that the grocer was charging absorbently high prices for his groceries, forcing the church to step in to deliver economic justice.

[pipoman]

43. It is far more likely

that as a small grocer he is being charged absorbent prices by food distributors. I have long believed that there should be a parity required for wholesale food and drug distribution. The result of no such parity is that small grocers, pharms pay more than big groceries and pharms retail. Until this happens there will be little or no choices in under privileged neighborhoods.

[bluestate10]

47. The solution is establishment of non-profit cooperatives that buy in

bulk and distribute to the precious few poor neighborhood grocers and drug stores. But I can promise you that attempts to establish non-profit food and drug coops would be met with stiff resistance by grocery chains, drug chains and the middle distributors. The dynamic of the problem are tough, in a sane society, government would subsidize food and drug prices from collected tax receipts.

[chrisa]

55. Obviously trying to spread socialism!

Socialism = feeding the poor = Communistic = damn long haired hippies = Al Qaeda!!!1!

[Le Taz Hot]

58. The second they start preaching

who to vote for from the pulpit, that tax exemption should be null and void. The food pantry is a separate issue but nice pretzeling.

[Terra Alta]

17. Not a smart move by the grocer.

He just put himself out of business. No one will want to give their business to someone who sued a group handing out free food. And I don't blame them.

[kas125]

19. I agree. Here, the local food pantry got a huge donation of

pork products, including hams for Easter dinners. They're storing it at the warehouse that belongs to our local chain of grocery stores. I hope the people in the article can find a way to work together to help their community instead of working against each other.

[bluestate10]

25. You hit on the crux of the problem. Although, I am sure you rather not have.

Your local chain of grocery stores serve higher income groups than are being served in the neighborhood that the grocer is operating in. Generosity is in their best public image. Those local chains can afford that generosity because their customers buy high margined groceries from them. I see the dynamic in my city. I have choices of grocery stores and eateries where I live. But, if I take a drive to the poor side of my city, there are no grocery stores, a couple ethnic eateries, few gas stations, some liquor stores. The grocer could well be a bastard that pulls every penny out of the pocket of customers that he can get. But, the grocer could also be a well meaning person that is a victim of the poverty that surrounds him. The solution to the dilemma may be establishment of non-profit cooperatives that deliver inexpensive grocery and household products to grocers that operate in poor neighborhoods and hold those grocers to delivering inexpensive groceries and household products to the people of the neighborhoods. I am confident that is an effective non-profit cooperative started delivering products to poor neighborhood grocers, those local grocery stores that you think are so charitable will not be and will work behind the scenes to have the non-profit crippled.

[GreenPartyVoter]

24. Seriously! I know I wouldn't want to shop at his place if he was going to be like that about it.

[bluestate10]

26. I don't understand how the man prices his products, so I can't judge.

The grocer could be a well meaning person that is a victim of the poverty around him. Or he could be a penny grubbing bastard out to suck every cent from the pockets of the people of that community.

[riderinthestorm]

28. And thus the stage is set for the creation of another food desert.... nt

[JVS]

33. This is a good example of why government programs like foodstamps are better than...

private charities. Government programs have to take externalities like this into account.

[OwnedByFerrets]

29. A much smarter move would have been advertising that he is

GIVING all his out of date product to the pantry. The way he's handling it will probably cost him MORE business AND the lawsuit will get thrown out.

[TexasProgresive]

30. Most if not all the food a pantry gives out was bought at retail.

The pantries around here have food drives where people donate food from their own pantries. So I even though this guy isn't getting business somebody is.

[pipoman]

44. Yeah, Wal-Mart...

Hurray!

[bluestate10]

48. Right. The entity making money is one that can buy in bulk and offset the

negative profit impact of the low cost food that was sold with high margin items elsewhere in it's stores. Meanwhile, a neighborhood grocer vanishes, creating more business for the chain.

[JVS]

31. Can he switch to cheap liquor and lotto tickets or does being next to a church mean he's SOL?

[Incitatus]

38. idk, that might be a prime location. nt

[bluestate10]

49. You touched on a problem. More stores selling cheap liquor in poor neighborhoods than

stores selling affordable food or ethical drugs.

[fasttense]

42. Would he prefer that the poor and starving steal their food from his grocery store?

What choice are you giving the starving people who can't afford to buy food if you take away the food pantry?

Yes, he has a right to make a living but people have a right to eat.

If so many people are using the pantry instead of buying from him, it means that that local economy can not afford his food prices. It sounds more like the generally bad economy is cutting into his business and not the food pantry.

[mntleo2]

45. That food bank is likely only open a couple hours while ...

...the bodega is open I bet at least 16 hours a day ~ if not 24 hours a day. I know food banks as a user and volunteer and they often open for a few hours a week and then they close for the rest of the time.

If this guy is not doing good, most likely it has little to do with the food bank and more to do with high prices. A neighborhood bodega like this is always handy because no matter how poor you are, you still may need milk for the kids, a cube of margarine for a recipe or a newspaper to look for jobs in a hurry and at an odd time when nothing else is convenient and/or open.

Sheesh ...

Cat in Seattle

[BobbyBoring]

46. The one in question

is only opened Saturdays for 4 hrs. so that's not what's causing his problems. His prices are.

[chrisa]

54. "I would have no problem if it wasn't next to ME!"

Pretty much a snapshot of current American life.