Keeping mom and pop fresh : strategies for getting produce into corner stores
Name
811259661-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
4.41 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
699d645b20e7e0e6568018ac3a39d2de
Author(s)
Hadwin, Angela J
Advisor(s)
James Buckley.
Alternative Title
Strategies for getting produce into corner stores
Date Issued
2012
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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.
Description
Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2012.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 68-71).
Subjects
Urban Studies and Planning.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Urban Studies and Planning
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