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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsMinneapolis neighborhoods face food desert after looting closes multiple stores
With Cub, Target, two Aldi stores and many small markets damaged by rioting over the past week, Longfellow and about eight other neighborhoods have nearly become a food desert. Many residents of the area shop lower-priced stores such as Aldi or dollar stores. Two of those dollar stores including Family Dollar on Lake Street were destroyed in last weeks looting and violence that arose after George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis police custody.
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Amplifying the problem over the weekend and again on Monday was the fact that Metro Transit was not operating buses or trains. Public transportation will again be shut down on Tuesday. Sylvester Hudson walked about 40 minutes from Fort Snelling Apartments to the Cub Foods at E. 46th Street and Hiawatha Avenue. It is the only supermarket left in the Longfellow neighborhood along the light-rail line after four other supermarkets closed because of destruction during the protests.
I dont know if Ill be able to catch a cab, so Ill probably have to walk, said Hudson, 70, who brought a two-wheeled cart for grocery transport, as he finished shopping at Cub Foods. This is the only store left open in the neighborhood that I can walk to.
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Business has been up more than 60% at Longfellow Market since the other stores were forced to close, according to manager Terry Mahowald. We never planned to be this busy, he said. Everyones stressed. This is certainly not the way we wanted to increase traffic. He plans to add more lower-priced, generic items to help keep prices reasonable for shoppers at the natural and organic grocery.
Mahowald thanked neighborhood volunteers for saving the Longfellow Market. Weve had nearly 25 people from the neighborhood guarding it every night since Tuesday, he said.
https://www.startribune.com/minneapolis-longfellow-neighborhood-almost-food-desert-after-riots/570928442/
Raine
(30,540 posts)the vandals but gee it's just the loss of property NO it's much more then that!
jimfields33
(15,797 posts)MichMan
(11,924 posts)sarisataka
(18,654 posts)The stores are destroyed. It will take months to repair and reopen them.
But it's just property
Crunchy Frog
(26,582 posts)Blue_true
(31,261 posts)who so fucking hate capitalism that they are blind to everything else. Those low priced stores were lifelines to people in that area, allowing them to stretch thin resources to feed and even cloth themselves.
The thing that really kick me in the mouth? Several of the people cheering on agressive actions by street protesters seem to have NEVER had to shop at one of those low cost places.
Crunchy Frog
(26,582 posts)judeling
(1,086 posts)There is a big gulf between theory and practice.
Any of you who came of political age in the late 60's early 70's should be familiar with the debate.