TAMPA, Fla. (WTSP) – Just a few doors from the “store closing” banner that hangs outside the Harveys Supermarket on Hillsborough Ave. in East Tampa, workers at Sanwa Farmer’s Market are ready to serve shoppers in the area Winn-Dixie left behind.
“We understand they don’t have as many options to shop at, and some of these other stores that are a little more pricey sort of price them out of the healthier fruits and vegetables,” said Wesley Leung of Sanwa Farmer’s Market, which offers many fresh produce and grocery items at a fraction of the cost of traditional supermarkets.
Sanwa is located in East Tampa, parts of which the federal government classifies as a food desert. The median income for this area is just $31,000, meaning losing the Harveys could have a disproportionate impact on this vulnerable community.
According to 'Teaching Tolerance', a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, people who live in low-income areas are half as likely as their wealthier peers to have a grocery store in their neighborhood.
Food deserts are also much more common in black communities as they are white ones. Teaching Tolerance also says just eight percent of African Americans live in a census tract with a supermarket, compared to 31 percent of whites.
Leung says it can be tough for businesses to survive in East Tampa because of the economics of the area. However, with more than 20 years of offering unique, fresh produce and other groceries to the Tampa Bay community, Sanwa remains firm in its commitment to the area.
“We try to be a staple...and hopefully, in-turn have other businesses come and join us and try to build East Tampa up,” said Leung.
Emerald Morrow is a reporter with 10News WTSP. Like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter. You can also email her at emorrow@wtsp.com.
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