A nonprofit is stepping up to fill a void of fresh produce in Syracuse’s Valley neighborhood, where the nearest grocery store is two miles away.
Food Access Healthy Neighborhoods Now organized a winter market last month in the Valley Plaza on Syracuse’s Southside to combat food access issues that stem from the 2018 departure of Tops from the plaza.
“It’s far away,” Rhonda Vesey, chairperson of FAHNN, said. “If you walk, it’s going to take you at least a half an hour and then what are you going to do? Bring home one bag of groceries?”
With the help of Brady Family Farm of Syracuse, the organization has provided fresh produce every other week for the winter market. They sell greens, potatoes, tomatoes, eggs, and bread.
Brady Family Farm provides fresh produce during the summer through their farm stands, and the summer market.
While there are places to purchase some food items, Vesey says they don’t provide fresh food.
“Dollar General does not provide fresh produce, corner stores do not provide fresh produce,” Vesey said. “We need a store where you can get access to fresh food items for your babies and items for your kids.”
Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh said the city has met with every grocery store chain in the region and beyond, but they haven’t found one to fill the existing building.
“The reality is that the grocery market has changed significantly in recent years and if the traditional grocers felt that there was a viable business plan to be had in that location, they would have been there by now. Clearly, they don’t,” he said.
Walsh said he appreciated the residents of the community who are working to fix the food desert problem.
“I give credit to the residents that they’ve taken the initiative, and they’re doing that in their own way right now,” he said. “We certainly would like to help them find a more long-term sustainable solution.”
Vesey said the community is full of groups of people who need access to fresh food.
“We have the hospital up on the hill, community college, Nob Hill apartments, Brighton Towers, Loretto. We are a full community, and we don’t have a grocery store,” she said.
Trudy Eudell has lived behind Valley Plaza for more than 40 years and has seen grocery stores come and go.
“I’ve always wanted us to have a neighborhood where we can just go buy anything we want,” Eudell said. “It’s important to me to make sure we get a grocery store in this area.”
Many people in the neighborhood don’t drive, Eudell said, so they must take the bus, walk, or get a ride to pick up groceries.
“You still have to pay for that,” Eudell said. “Now with food prices going up, if you can’t get it in your neighborhood, you have to pay the extra $10 or $20 for a cab.”
In the Valley ZIP code of 13205, 32% of households do not have a vehicle of their own, according to data from Onondaga County. The median household income is $30,284.
Maura Ackerman, director of Syracuse-Onondaga Food Systems Alliance, said the problem is a result of years of the neighborhood going unsupported.
“We recognize the deep, deep need in this community and the length of divestment in this neighborhood,” Ackerman said. “Disproportionate food access is not normal or random. It’s a result of decades upon decades of divestment in this community.”
Vesey raised concerns over the new aquarium that was approved to be built in Syracuse’s Inner Harbor area, arguing that money could have been allocated for a grocery store.
“What I like to say is we’re doing it for the fish, and we can do it for our children,” Ackerman said. “It’s not an either/or it’s a both/and. We need to make sure we are approaching these issues in a way that lifts everybody up.”