This week’s updates on equity news. 

 ”For Victims of Recession, Patchwork State Aid,” - The New York Times

WASHINGTON — As millions of people seek government aid, many for the first time, they are finding it dispensed American style: through a jumble of disconnected programs that reach some and reject others, often for reasons of geography or chance rather than differences in need.

Health care, housing, food stamps and cash — each forms a separate bureaucratic world, and their dictates often collide. State differences make the patchwork more pronounced, and random foibles can intervene, like a computer debacle in Colorado that made it harder to get food stamps and Medicaid.

“SUPER MARKETING: BETTER FOOD CHOICES MAY BE AHEAD,” - City Limits Weekly

New York City is famous for innumerable gut-busting culinary delights enjoyed at delis, street carts and restaurants – though not as much for veggie-laden meals prepared at home. But a host of new proposals aimed at improving city residents’ access to healthy food could take a bite out of the city’s high-calorie culture.

The city is widely expected to soon introduce new zoning and financial incentives aimed at encouraging supermarket development in neighborhoods with few grocery stores. The Department of City Planning last week would confirm only that the city is working toward announcing the details of the plan – but details have been emerging.

“Cities Cry Foul on Stimulus Cash,” - The Wall Street Journal

As he unveiled his proposed budget earlier this month, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg threw in a comment about the dollars that got away.

While the city stands to collect more than $2 billion of federal stimulus money over three years to help pay Medicaid costs, “we’re getting a half billion less than Congress was intending to give us,” said Mr. Bloomberg, an independent.

Britain’s mega-supermarket chain Tesco has begun trying to ingratiate itself into the US with a dramatically different marketing scheme. Rather than focus on the massive, 50,000-square-foot supermarket strategy of traditional American chains, Tesco has started building about 60 smaller “Fresh and Easy” stores in LA, Phoenix and Las Vegas.

The idea is to put these smaller stores — roughly 10,000 square feet — directly into low- and moderate-income communities, to give residents a place nearby to buy fresh, organic food often for a fraction of the cost. So far, the response has been mixed from customers, who are unfamiliar with the tiny stores and their relatively bland interiors.

But as PolicyLink president Judith Bell writes in a letter in today’s edition of USA Today, equity advocates should applaud any private sector effort to bring fresh and healthy foods into underserved neighborhoods:

The arrival of the United Kingdom grocery chain Tesco in the USA is a welcome sign that the private sector is waking up to the harmful void of fresh foods in our low-income communities (”British Invasion hits grocery stores,” Cover story, Money, Monday).

Too many poor communities lack a supermarket or any other place to buy fresh food. Residents are forced to make do with the preservative-laden and sugar-heavy foods at their local convenience stores or fast food outlets. Is it a surprise that low-income communities are hardest hit with the nation’s obesity and diabetes crises? Tesco’s plan for small stores in low-income communities won’t solve America’s health woes on its own. But getting fresh foods into the hands of all people is a great step in that direction.

For more information on how to encourage healthy food choices in your community, check out the PolicyLink report “Healthy Food, Healthy Communities”

(Photo by Dan MacMedan, USA TODAY)