I ran into the convenience store the other day to use the ATM. I noticed one of my neighbors picking up a gallon of milk and a dozen eggs. I was baffled to see anyone buy milk there when the Whole Foods Market was just a block away. I had always believed that groceries at the convenience store are more expensive than the supermarket.
As surprised as I was to see this in my neighborhood – with a Whole Foods and Shaw’s Supermarket less than a ½ mile from affordable housing complexes, it got me thinking of the economics of living below the poverty line, when a large grocery store nearby is not an option. Life is more expensive when you have less money. Let me give you a few examples.
If you do not own a car (because you cannot afford it), then you likely rely on public transportation to get to work. The commute can be doubled… cutting into the time that someone might otherwise get a second job, work longer hours at the first job, or even take a course to get a higher paying job. In essence, your earning potential is reduced because of the time spent commuting.
If you have limited income with children, childcare becomes a huge issue. My longtime assistant has a son with sickle-cell anemia. She could not maintain a regular job because she had no one to care for her son when he got sick, which was unfortunately too frequent.
If your income is below a certain level, it’s harder and more expensive to borrow money. When financing a car purchase, for example, (as many people at all income levels do), you will get a higher interest rate, and therefore higher payments. The less you can afford, the more you have to pay. Ironic, isn’t it?
And given the financial and time challenges, going back to school to get skills that would enable you to get a higher paying job is even more difficult.
For many low income, urban dwellers, the corner market is a primary source for groceries. Though reputed to be more expensive than the big chain supermarkets, if you don’t have a car to drive to a larger store, it can be the only option.
Where I live in Cambridge, there are plenty of larger grocery stores within walking distance to all levels of housing. Given the proximity of these larger grocery stores to the low-income housing, I wonder the efficacy of this theory.
To give you a sense of my neighborhood… Prospect Street separates the “high rent” neighborhoods from the “low rent”. I live one block into the low rent side. Just a few blocks away, on the high rent side of Prospect Street is the Whole Foods… One half mile down the road is a Shaw’s – the “conventional” supermarket chain of New England. In between are two public/affordable housing communities and several convenience stores (like Tedeschi where I used the ATM) and also a few small ethnic grocers.
I wanted to know… are the markets closer to affordable housing more expensive than the supermarkets several blocks farther away? On a rainy Monday afternoon, I criss-crossed my neighborhood to check prices on a sample market basket of eggs, milk, tomatoes and spaghetti.
Prices are based on the least expensive option in that category. With the tomatoes, packaging varied, so I converted all into a per pound price.
Whole Foods
Distance to Affordable Housing #1: less than 1/10 of a mile
Distance to Affordable Housing #2: ½ mile.
Eggs: $2.69/dozen
Tomatoes: $1.99/pound
Whole Milk: $3.29/gallon
Spaghetti: $2.69/pound
Total Market-basket: $10.66
Tedeschi
Distance to Affordable Housing #1: 240 feet
Distance to Affordable Housing #2: less than ½ mile.
Eggs: $2.70/dozen
Tomatoes: $3.40/pound
Whole Milk: $4.99/gallon
Spaghetti: $1.99/pound
Total Market-basket: $13.08
Haitian Grocer
Distance to Affordable Housing #1: 3/10 mile
Distance to Affordable Housing #2: 2/10 mile.
Unlike Tedeschi, or other convenience stores, this really had a broad selection of fresh produce and dried goods for a small space – including spices, condiments, paper products and cleaning supplies. They even carried frozen fish. It seemed like someone could do a full grocery shopping here, unlike the Tedeschi’s which carried a very limited selection
Eggs: $1.99/dozen
Tomatoes: $1.99/pound
Whole Milk: $4.29/gallon
Spaghetti: $1.39/pound
Total Market-basket: $9.66
Newtowne Market:
Distance to Affordable Housing #1: 4/10 mile
Distance to Affordable Housing #2: across the street
This resembled more of a convenience store than a small grocer, with a very limited selection of produce – only tomatoes, peppers, iceberg lettuce and celery. There were no prices on any of the produce or dairy products. Only the butter had a price label at $.99/stick or $3.96/pound.
Shaw’s
Distance to Affordable Housing #1: .6 miles
Distance to Affordable Housing #2: less than ½ mile
Eggs: $1.99/dozen (as a side note, if you want to compare the price of cage-free eggs, they were 3.69/dozen – one dollar more than Whole Foods)
Tomatoes: $1.99/pound
Whole Milk: $4.69/gallon
Spaghetti: $1.57/pound
Total Market-basket: $10.24
I’m not surprised to see that the Tedeschi’s was significantly more expensive (though I wonder why anyone would shop there). But I was surprised to see how similar the prices were at Whole Foods to the other local options. And I’m pleased to see that the small Haitian Grocer with no more than 400 square feet of retail space (maybe smaller) was the most economical. And better still, they had a broad selection and were exceedingly close to affordable housing.
What have you noticed in your city and neighborhoods?
Do you find that in addition to being more expensive, the smaller markets where those with lower incomes shop, have a much smaller selection of fruit and veg? I’ve always found that and find that to be a travesty unto itself.
Kim – I agree! But I was impressed with the variety the Haitian Grocer had considering the space constraints.
Fascinating, but not surprising. The one thing I find is that small ethnic groceries, while not always having a large inventory, generally have high turnover, so that the produce they have is fresh. I like to do my shopping at Asian supermarkets, which always have super-fresh produce and fish, but also stock “American” products at much lower prices than the supermarkets. Fascinating exploration of your neighborhood, Julia, and much food for thought.
*Looks around* Am I on Dan’s blog? 😉
This is really interesting. I haven’t thought to do such a comparison. I am really surprised Whole Foods is about the same. I hate their selection of produce though, and I hate their overpriced meat department (I shop at a private meat market that’s fairly expensive, but their stuff is sourced well and tastes a-ma-zing). I think the rest of my markets are about the same across the board AND they are all really accessible. I live near neighborhoods of all types and never is anyone without a grocery store within a half mile. At least not in the area of Orange County I am in.
I have also thought about this, although I have not done any exact comparisons… Down the street from me there is a gas station convenience store and right ACROSS THE STREET is a major chain grocery store. There are numerous large apartment complexes of several different rent levels nearby. What I have noticed is that the convenience store is packed all the time – (I would like to own that convenience store!) I think is partly a matter of convenience, but also a level of comfort. (I see down-on-their-luck folks buying things in the convenience store, but never in the grocery store.) I have also read studies which state that when people are concerned with survival they often do not have the extra energy to consider maximizing price and nutrition. It’s easy to get mad at the convenience stores for the lousy food selection and high prices, but as a society we have left the door wide open for them to make their product available.
Lydia – I agree about the Chinese markets. When I first started my business (and money was tight) I shopped there all the time — I remember, chicken was $.69/pound and carrots were $.49
Melissa – It is interesting that in a lot of urban areas, a big market is less than a half mile away.
UrMom – Thanks for sharing that insight into the psychology behind convenience shopping. It certainly shifts the discussion!
Fascinating! Too often people simply assume that inner cities feature nothing but food deserts and overpriced produce as far as the eye can see. Why? Because it fits the construct we have about poverty, city living–and of course, how the food industry takes advantage of us.
Thanks for doing the due diligence here and uncovering provocative data that suggest otherwise.
Dan