Keeping mom and pop fresh : strategies for getting produce into corner stores

Abstract

Availability of fresh, healthy produce for low-income people is a growing concern for advocates and public officials concerned with health disparities and diet-related disease. Healthy corner store conversions are a promising strategy to address issues of food access. To be successful, conversion programs must address the challenges of sourcing and selling produce. As a perishable product, produce requires store owner to possess significant skills and infrastructure for proper management. Additionally, corner stores face a supply chain increasingly structured for large supermarkets and must balance the often-competing factors of small scale, affordability, and quality. Finally, programs must consider how to appropriately serve and engage communities to ensure financial viability and maximize health impacts. This thesis explores strategies to improve the provision of produce through corner stores through a review of reports, literature, and practice. Central to these approaches are the goals of increased efficiency and affordability and long-term sustainability. Several corner store programs have demonstrated the possibility for making money through produce sales using a holistic approach that engages community members and provides training and assistance to store owners. Supply strategies range from cooperative purchasing, shared docking with larger stores or institutions, convincing wholesalers to accommodate smaller orders, and developing new distribution infrastructure that integrates small stores into the local food system. This work concludes with key lessons for corner store programs seeking to improve produce supply practices and infrastructure. The discussion also includes opportunities for actors in produce supply and distribution to capture this emerging market and support food access efforts.