From Knowledge Center

Contents 1 Dwight Supermarket Concerned Citizens Committee 1.1 Announcement: Stop and Shop to Replace Shaw's 1.2 About the Concerned Citizens Committee 1.3 Responding to the Store Closing: How to Stay Engaged 1.3.1 Message from the Committee, March 10, 2010 1.3.2 Dwight Supermarket Concerned Citizens Committee Survey 1.3.3 SeeClickFix Issue 1.4 Data and Resources About the Closing of Shaw's 1.4.1 CARE Summary: Why Closing Shaw's is Bad for Our Health 1.5 News Items About the Concerned Citizens Committee 1.6 Other Resources

Dwight Supermarket Concerned Citizens Committee

Dwight Supermarket Concerned Citizens Committee
Description The Dwight Supermarket Concerned Citizens Committee is a group of residents, businesses and organizations concerned about the loss of the Shaw's Supermarket in New Haven. Resources File:Health and Closing Shaws Supermarket 2010.pdf

Announcement: Stop and Shop to Replace Shaw's

News coverage:

1. Stop & Shop To Set Up Shop, NH Independent, 2/1/11 http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/stop_and_shop_to_set_up_shop/

2. Stop & Shop confirms it will open store at former Shaw's site in New Haven, NH Register, 2/1/11, http://nhregister.com/articles/2011/02/01/news/doc4d4859001f809318317550.txt

3. Store #2633 to Start Hiring, NH Independent, 3/2/11 http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/store_no._2633_to_start_hiring/

About the Concerned Citizens Committee

The Dwight Supermarket Concerned Citizens Committee is a group of residents, businesses and organizations concerned about the loss of the Shaw's Supermarket in New Haven. In mid-February, Supervalu Inc. announced that it was pulling all Shaw's supermarkets out of CT. Immediately upon hearing the news, the Greater Dwight Development Corporation (GDDC), Whalley Avenue Special Services District, Dwight Community Management Team and other partners began examining options and seeking a replacement. The Commitee is not willing to accept a "food desert" in this neighborhood, and GDCIC is working initially with Yale University Properties, which has both extensive experience in supermarket real estate and a strong desire to avert this possibility.

Responding to the Store Closing: How to Stay Engaged

Message from the Committee, March 10, 2010

It is of critical importance that the community remains engaged on this issue. In the section below we have included a brief survey, the data from which may be valuable in assisting the GDCIC and its partners secure a new, full-service supermarket for the Dwight location. In addition to distributing the survey, here are things you can do to help:

1. Once Shaw's goes dark at the end of March, help us ensure that the Plaza remains a safe place. Visit the site often and shop at the other stores in the center to that it remains a financially healthy community asset. Also, consider creating a formal block watch.

2. Collect the names and signatures of people committed to having a full-service supermarket in central New Haven, and have them complete the survey linked to below.

3. Make it known in conversations with friends, elected officials, and inquiring journalists that the community deserves a full-service supermarket in this space. If you have a moment, submit a comment to Supervalu, the owners of Shaw's, at http://www.supervalu.com/sv-webapp/contact/contact.jsp. Let them know how important it is to the community that they assist us in obtaining a full-service replacement store (please keep the messages civil, as we continue to work with Supervalu to reach a mutually-acceptable resolution).

Dwight Supermarket Concerned Citizens Committee Survey

The survey will provide valuable data in assisting GDCIC and its partners to secure a new, full-service supermarket for the Dwight location.

Note: The survey closed on March 19, 2010. The online version was available at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/dwightsupermarket. The paper version was available at: http://tinyurl.com/newhavengrocer (PDF File). Over 2,500 surveys were completed.

Results were sent to the Committee and announced at a meeting on March 30th at 6:30PM at the Dwight Police Substation.

Initial Results of the Dwight Supermarket Concerned Citizens Committee's Shaw's Survey, as presented to the neighborhood, included:

2,335 collected between March 10‐21, 2010 (several hundred more collected thereafter)

93% of respondents reside in City of New Haven

Frequency of shopping

More than once per week: 16%

Weekly: 57%

Once per month: 13%

Less than once/month 13%

Neighborhoods Represented: # of Responses, (% of Responses), Rough Est.: Avg Visits/Year

Downtown‐Wooster Square and Yale Campus: 952 (41%), 33

Dwight‐Edgewood‐West River: 415 (18%), 64

East Rock: 354 (15%), 29

Westville: 177 (8%), 36

Beaver Hills: 87 (4%), 57

Dixwell‐Newhallville: 77 (3%), 66

Hill or City Point: 37 (2%), 38

Fair Haven: 35 (2%), 35

Other (East Shore, Quinnipiac Meadows, suburbs, N/A): 201 (9%), 34

Total: 2335 (100%), 40

Where will you do the shopping you had done at Shaw's? (List all ‐ # responses)

Stop & Shop 763

Unsure or "Nowhere" 622

Edge of the Woods 319

Downtown Mini‐Marts, Delis, Small Grocers 249

Trader Joe's 182

ShopRite or PriceRite 168

Delivery (Peapod) 130

East Rock Mini‐Marts, Delis, Small Grocers 93

Pharmacies 89

WalMart 78

Whole Foods 68

Ferraros 42

C‐Town 36

Farmers Market 35

Sam's Club 13

Save‐a‐lot 11

Big Y 11

Aldi 9

Minore's 9

Other or not enough information given 263

Travel to Shaw's (# responses)

Walk 1,235

Drive / Carpool 1,178

Bicycle 224

Bus 111

Yale Shuttle 63

What qualities should a replacement supermarket have?: (Percent of respondents who mentioned category of response)

Good Product / Selection Quality (Organic, local, fresh, healthy, bulk foods; great produce; good fish & meat selection; international and Kosher foods, etc.) 45%

Good Cost / Pricing (sales, coupons, low prices) 31%

Customer Service or Atmosphere within Store (Clean appearance throughout, good customer service, friendly staff, fast checkout) 24%

Other (Support the community, have local events, co‐op model, long store hours, self-checkout, carry a specific brand of foods) 21%

Location, Urban Design, Transportation (Better walking & biking routes to store, more pedestrian friendly appearance along Whalley Avenue, shuttles from Yale) 16%

Good Safety / Security (Walking routes, lighting, guards) 5%

Services in the store or adjacent (laundry, banks, delivery, in-store bank, nearby stores (laundromat, wine shop), delivery service etc.) 5%

For more information about the survey, please contact DataHaven or the Greater Dwight Development Corporation.

SeeClickFix Issue

You may visit the SeeClickFix page at http://en.seeclickfix.com/issues/25302 to vote on the issue. On this page you may also provide additional comments. Comments on the above site will be read by the entire community. Additional information about upcoming meetings, and any progress on finding a supermarket for the neighborhood, also may be shared on the SeeClickFix page.

Data and Resources About the Closing of Shaw's

Please stay tuned for a summary of demographic, food security and other data, including information from the Community Alliance for Research and Engagement (CARE) that is relevant to this issue.

See below for a preliminary analysis from CARE.

CARE Summary: Why Closing Shaw's is Bad for Our Health

For a PDF version of this article, click File:Economy-Food-ClosingShawsSupermarket CARE 0310.pdf.

The Community Alliance for Research and Engagement (CARE) has been working to combat chronic diseases in New Haven – diseases that take a heavy toll on our residents.

The closing of Shaw’s Supermarket impacts access to healthy food. Access to affordable fresh fruits and vegetables is essential for health. Without a major supermarket, New Haven residents will be left without reliable and affordable healthy food options.

This past summer, CARE mapped six neighborhoods in New Haven, including the West River/Dwight neighborhoods where Shaw’s is most easily accessible. CARE took an inventory of places that sell food, including supermarkets, convenience stores, and restaurants. CARE also conducted health surveys with 1205 city residents.

The mapping project revealed that New Haven has an alarming lack of grocery stores and supermarkets. Of the 88 stores CARE mapped, two-thirds were convenience stores (corner stores, bodegas, mini-marts, etc) – stores that mostly sell junk food. One in five stores was a package store. Shaw’s is the only major supermarket. Only one store, located in Fair Haven, sold mostly fruits and vegetables. New Haven already lacks access to fresh produce. The closing of Shaw’s adds to this void.

Despite overall limited access to healthy food in New Haven, CARE’s health surveys indicate that Shaw’s enhanced access among nearby residents in the Dwight and West River neighborhoods. Residents in these neighborhoods were more likely to report better access to and quality of fruits and vegetables and that there are stores within easy walking distance of their homes – particularly important for people who do not have cars. Residents in West River/Dwight were more likely to report that they are usually able to find fresh fruits and vegetables in their neighborhood than residents of other surveyed neighborhoods (85% vs. 78%). In addition, more West River/Dwight residents said that they “strongly agree” that many shops, stores, markets, or places to go are within easy walking distance of their homes (57% vs. 48%). Residents were also less likely to rate the quality of fruits and vegetables in places where they did their grocery shopping as “poor” than residents of other surveyed neighborhoods (1% vs. 4%). CARE surveys suggest that residents in the neighborhood surrounding Shaw’s benefited from access to this supermarket.

These results support the importance of sustaining a supermarket in New Haven. Like many urban areas, New Haven can be characterized as a “food desert” where healthy food is non-existent or too expensive – yet there is an abundance of junk food. There is clear consumer demand, and we believe that this translates to considerable economic viability of a supermarket. The health of our children and families depend, in part, on a thriving food environment. CARE has come together with diverse members of our community to demand a new supermarket to replace Shaw’s.

For more information about CARE, contact 203.785.7651 • care@yale.edu • www.ycci.yale.edu/care

News Items About the Concerned Citizens Committee

1. "Dwight Vows To Find Shaw’s Successor," Zak Stone, New Haven Independent: http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/shaws2/ (3/10/10) Dwight

2. "Dwight neighbors intent on replacing Shaw’s," Mary O'Leary, New Haven Register: http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2010/03/10/news/new_haven/a1_--_shawswhalley_0309.txt (3/10/10)

3. "Dwight neighbors fight for store," Mary O'Leary, New Haven Register: http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2010/03/13/news/new_haven/a3-neshawsout.txt (3/13/10)

Other Resources

1. New Haven Neighborhood Quality of Life Survey 2010. This neighborhood survey was sponsored by management teams and community groups throughout New Haven, including the Dwight Management Team and Concerned Citizens Committee.

2. Research Review Document from Rudd Center (web page on DataHaven Community Knowledge Center, originally posted in 2010): Research studies on the availability of healthy food in food deserts

3. USDA Food Environment Atlas (Connecticut Data Blog): http://www.ctdatahaven.org/blog/2010/02/new-usda-atlas-compares-food-environments-of-u-s-counties/

4. Report by PolicyLink: "The Grocery Gap: Do Communities of Color Have Less Access to Healthy Food?" Blog post: http://www.equityblog.org/2010/03/15/the-grocery-gap-do-communities-of-color-have-less-access-to-healthy-food/ // Report available at http://www.policylink.org/site/c.lkIXLbMNJrE/b.5860321/k.A5BD/The_Grocery_Gap.htm (March 15, 2010)

5. Data confirm lack of supermarket access in poor neighborhoods (NRDC Switchboard, 11/11/2010) http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/kbenfield/data_confirm_lack_of_supermark.html

6. Is Your Neighborhood Making You Fat? (Huffington Post, 2/1/2011) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kristin-kirkpatrick-ms-rd-ld/local-foods-_b_815751.html Excerpt: "A recent study in the Journal of Planning Education and Research (June 2010 29: 444-460) found that women who lived closer to a convenience store than a grocery store were more likely to have a higher body mass index (BMI). To understand why this association was identified, it may be important to look at the overall availability of food at your local convenience store or gas station. Gas stations, movie theatres, the ball park, and even your local mall's food court are areas that offer what I refer to as "secondary dining." The main goal of these food establishments is to provide a service or entertain you; not to feed you nutritiously. These places rely on food that can be prepared quickly and conveniently using salt, fat and sugar to enhance flavor and taste rather than fresh produce, healthy fats and spices."

7. High resolution overhead view of Shaw's Supermarket: http://www.ctdatahaven.org/newhaven/index.php/File:ShawsNewHaven.jpg

Additional files will be posted here in the near future, so check back soon. Please contact DataHaven at (203) 500-7059 or mark (at) ctdatahaven.org to request that additional information be posted at this site.

Please note that some sections of the DataHaven website are still under construction.