The deserts of Baton Rouge are marked by blight, empty buildings and low-income neighborhoods. You won’t find sand there and you most certainly won’t find a grocery store or supermarket. And these food deserts cover more than half the city, primarily north of Florida Boulevard.
Baton Rouge is loaded with grocery stores, many located in close proximity, fighting for customers. Those retailers, however, open their doors in the more affluent neighborhoods—like Southdowns—making it more difficult for some of the poorest families in the city to access fresh fruits and vegetables.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines a food desert as a low-income census tract where at least 500 residents, or 30% of the population, live more than one mile from a supermarket or grocery store. Most of the food deserts in Baton Rouge are located in the north. There are at least 30 grocers south of Interstates 10 and 12, but less than 20 supermarkets north of the de facto dividing line.
Local leaders are insistent that north Baton Rouge can support a grocery store. If so, then the question is this: What will it take to bring a food market to an area of town that needs it the most? Read the full story from the Oct. 21 edition of Business Report. Send comments to editor@businessreport.com.
