Fit Fest an oasis in a 'food desert'

Tribune:

The line of people waiting for a free box of fresh food in Chicago's Pullman neighborhood stretched at least 10 people deep.

Inside were cardboard boxes filled to the brim with apples, mangoes, a can of soup and bags of oatmeal, beans and baby carrots.

Ah, fresh food. And Pullman and nearby Roseland certainly lack it, activists say.

"There's nothing here in the community for us to shop at," said Saiesha Anderson, 28, who suggested that city officials transform the vacant lots and boarded-up shops in Roseland and Pullman into groceries stocked with fresh foods.

Rev. James Meeks called Roseland and Pullman a "food desert." The closest store with fresh produce is a Jewel at 11730 S. Marshfield Ave., which could be a few miles from some people's homes depending on where they live.

That's a long haul to the store in the low-income areas, said Meeks, a state senator.

On Sunday, his church, Salem Baptist in Pullman, held the second Fit Fest to highlight the lack of healthy food stores in Roseland and Pullman and the rising health-care concerns in the black community.

"In our neighborhood, the only thing you can buy is something greasy in a bag," Meeks said.

Roseland. Perhaps a place that is more deserving of appropriate for a Wal-Mart (well deserve is a word that wouldn't work in this instance). Especially if we were talking about filling a need for not only jobs, but in terms of a food desert. It's great to see Rev. Meeks take the lead on this issue.