Committee on Economic, Capital and Technology Development January 13, 2011 City Council Meeting
INVITATION EXTENDED TO DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON OPENING OF NEW GROCERY STORES.
WHEREAS, More than a half million Chicago residents live in areas of the city known as food deserts, sections of the city lacking affordable grocery stores. These residents lack access to fresh fruits, vegetables, seafood, and meats; and
WHEREAS, To access fresh produce and meats, these Chicago residents are forced to travel long distances out of their communities, and in some case, out of Chicago, to purchase food products; and
WHEREAS, The lack of fresh produce and meats correlates to higher incidents of health issues, including higher rates of diabetes, cancer, and obesity, for residents living in the food deserts; and
WHEREAS, In 2008, the Chicago Grocer Expo project, a coalition of city staff, researchers and community representatives, identified six priority sites, many city-owned and vacant, on the South and West sides that were well-suited for grocery store development; and
WHEREAS, All Chicago communities and each Chicago resident deserve reasonable access to major grocery store chains with affordable fresh produce and meats; and
WHEREAS, The Chicago City Council requests an update and status report from the Department of Housing and Economic Development on the Department's progress on opening new grocery stores within the areas of City that are designated as food deserts; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved, That representatives of the Department of Housing and Economic Development are invited to provide testimony before the Committee on Economic, Capital and Technology Development on this topic.
MARGARET LAURINO Alderman, 39lh Ward