Chester Spirit right-on-point regarding Chester Supermarket

There’s nothing more flattering than having others publicly share your sentiments regarding an issue. 

The March 16-22, 2011 Chester Spirit editorial, Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Are Available in Chester, Now What?, touched on many points made on this blog regarding the supermarket-in-Chester issue.

Below are a few of the statements (slightly reworded) made in that editorial and my comments below. 

With the Farmers Market and Co-op, there are now two places to access fresh produce right in the heart of the city.

Chester’s Co-op should permanently quash the 11-year-old complaint that Chester has no access to fresh, healthy foods like fruit and vegetables.

Co-op naysayers will quickly point out that people can’t afford the fees and time obligations to be members. Economically speaking, the people who supposedly can’t afford Co-op membership actually pay much more than that in supermarket overhead costs every time they shop.

The 11-year complaint should have went out of the window last year when the Chester Farmer Market opened. It offers an entire section of fresh produce. There was never any great rush to patronize it.

Much of the Farmers Market fall-off has more to do with its management and the quality of its cooked foods than it does with its fresh produce.

70% of Chester residents have cars. Chester has (very) good public transportation that easily connects with the region. 

Chester needs to appreciate what it does have. If supermarket owners saw 37,000 people trying to squeeze through the doors of these two food centers, they’d be here in a heartbeat. 

Every resident should be an ambassador for this city to help reverse the image that outsiders have. Our neighbors believe Chester is nothing more than a Mecca for social services and criminal behavior. 

The same people who purchase memberships to the BJs-Cosco-Sams Club of the world understand the economic benefits those memberships provide. However, those memberships don’t allow you to make decisions on what the store stocks, how they price, or the color of paint on the wall. A membership to the Co-op buys you ownership responsibilities and you work there only 3 hours a month. Too much? I don’t think so.

What’s up with the Farmer’s Market management and cooked foods? We lined up down the block when they were slapping chicken right out the box to the grille. It’s the same staff and the food is now prepared under license and inspections guidelines.

The fight for a supermarket seems to be a political one. But why? Politicians aren’t business people. Shouldn’t we be going to the supermarket owners, business associations, people with money? My guess is that City officials would sign off on a supermarket if someone brought one here. I don’t see the City’s role as one to build the market. 

And, since supermarkets generally sit in shopping centers, there are many other stores that have to come along for the ride. Can that happen in present day Chester?

As the Chester Spirit says, let’s squeeze through the doors of these two food centers. That’s that best first start.