To: Dan Bane, CEO Trader Joe's
Trader Joe's: Combat the Food Desert in Woodlawn
The Woodlawn Community is a food desert, many families are food insecure and health indicators for food dependent illnesses are dismal. We are currently served by lots of convenience stores, and a few mid-sized grocers, including a substandard Aldi's. Yet 21.5 million in food an beverage leave the community every year and the 60637 zip code has 44 million in SNAP buying power. We have a location at 61st & Cottage that could serve the Woodlawn community and the University of Chicago students, staff and visitors. Trader Joe's-upgrade the Aldi's and bring a Trader Joe's to the south side of Chicago.
Why is this important?
My family has a lot of food sensitivities and dietary restrictions and the only place I can shop in Woodlawn for healthy foods is the 61st Street Farmer's Market. As I worked with a local organization to further research this issue, I discovered that while our community has significant buying power, our current stores are not providing healthy fresh options and the grocery store brokers are not counting our daytime population which includes the University of Chicago, U of C Hospitals, and many more large employers.