Supermarkets

What Good Is a Grocery Gift Card in the Middle of a Food Desert?

Seldom seen in Chester
Seldom seen in Chester Photo: Stephen Cummings via Flickr

Chester’s Mayor’s office announced that the city will hold a gun exchange this Saturday, the Inky reports. Each person who turns in weapons will receive a $100 ShopRite gift card. Additional credit will be granted to those who turn over assault rifles. Seems like a noble enough effort, right? Well, except for the fact that Chester, which is one of the country’s most impoverished and hungriest communities — and it’s worth noting home to both a casino and a soccer stadium — is a bona fide food desert. There hasn’t been a proper supermarket there in more than a decade. Folks who receive grocery coupons in exchange for guns will have to go at least a mile outside city limits to redeem them. Good luck with that, Chester. [Inquirer]

What Good Is a Grocery Gift Card in the Middle of a Food Desert?