An Argument Against Government Incentives for Grocery Stores

Food desert-busting is one of the cross-over opportunities between planning and public health, but it's unclear how effective bringing healthy foods to underserved neighborhoods has been.

1 minute read

July 25, 2016, 9:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Produce Aisle

Mac McCann writes an op-ed in response to a story from earlier in July about a $3 million program designed to attract grocery stores to Southern Dallas.

The problem, according to McCann's argument, is a lack of evidence that the program will work. "The government has tried over and over again to address the problems of food deserts — without much to show for it," explains McCann. In fact ""Food store access, particularly as measured by proximity, has a limited impact on food choices," according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture study published in May 2016.

On another line of argument, McCann notes that the city of Dallas "approved a $3 million grant for Costco — which made $2.38 billion in profit in 2015 — to build a store in northern Dallas." To McCann, the results of these investments don't justify their expense—especially when the city has so many other pressing issues to address.

Friday, July 22, 2016 in The Dallas Morning News

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