Corner stores try selling healthy food. Will it work?

[Lone_Star_Dem]

Here's something I hope not only works, but works so well it spreads to all poorer neighborhoods. I've you've never lived in a poor neighborhood, without easy transportation, you may not understand how life changing this could be for many.

A cooler filled with soft drinks used to be the first thing customers saw when they walked through the doors of M&I Meat Market, a bustling convenience store on West Commerce Street.

Now, courtesy of the city and a federal stimulus grant, there's a new refrigerator that's stocked with lettuce, tomatoes, cauliflower and other fresh produce. More fruits and vegetables are stacked nearby on a shelf, and frozen goods — such as pineapple chunks and blueberries — are packed in a new freezer.

“Sweet potatoes, yesterday, we brought them out and they were flying off the shelf,” said store owner Irma Bijarro, who runs the market with her husband, Martin. “We were like, ‘Wow, this is great.'”

The new offerings are part of an experiment by city officials who are trying to bring more healthy foods to poor neighborhoods, where many residents can't afford a car and don't live near a supermarket.

The city's ¡Tiendita Por Vida! program — Spanish for “Little Store for Life” — spent $6,000 for new refrigeration equipment at the meat market at 5106 W. Commerce St., and the Family Market convenience store at 1424 Guadalupe St.

The money comes from a $15 million “Communities Putting Prevention to Work” federal stimulus grant, which aims to encourage healthy lifestyles and wipe out “food deserts” where people don't have easy access to fresh food.

Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Corner-stores-try-selling-healthy-food-Will-it-2265933.php#ixzz1dX1MBKTf