[Excerpt]

The city-parish’s efforts to address food deserts in north Baton Rouge and other parts of the city has reached what Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome called a major milestone through the launch of the Healthy Food Retail Initiative...to provide incentives to grocers to set up shop in some of the city-parish’s underserved communities.

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Broome was joined by an array of community partners during the announcement Tuesday, one being Together Baton Rouge, which has been working to bring more affordable, healthier food options to parts of the city where grocery stores are scarce.

Edgar Cage, a spokesman affiliated with the faith-based organization, said 23% of the parish’s population live in areas with little choice for healthy food. The national average is 7%, he said.

Together Baton Rouge claims the most vulnerable residents affected by the parish’s food deserts are 19,000 children and 7,000 seniors.

“Early on we knew there needs to be infrastructure created to make things happen,” Cage said.

[Photo Credit: Bill Feig, The Advocate]

Incentives Aim to Bring Grocers Offering Healthier Fare to Baton Rouge's 'Food Deserts', The Advocate [pdf]

Two years ago, after Kroger announced the closure of a South Jackson grocery store, Working Together Jackson leaders rallied behind the laid-off workers and made a public commitment to fight for its replacement. Due to the creativity and persistence of Working Together Jackson leaders, a Jackson Cash and Carry grocery store opened in its place -- tangible fruits of local efforts.

Rev. Ronnie Drudup Jr. announced that the organization wants to not only "support this store, but all" stores across Jackson. "We've got to make sure we bring high quality fruits, vegetables, and produce all around the city of Jackson."

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In an assembly drawing about one thousand Together Baton Rouge leaders, the organization challenged runoff candidates on a number of issues, eliciting commitments from candidates for City Mayor and Metro Council 10 & 12 positions. The organization live-streamed the assembly which drew residents from across the city. The most contentious of the requests for commitments includes finding $1.5 Million to help finance a grocery store in neighborhoods where none exists, and around law enforcement. Together is calling on the city for more minority hires, an independent monitor for the Police Department, reforming use-of-force policies, higher pay, better training and addressing the 'history of discriminatory arrest patterns in Baton Rouge."

Together Baton Rouge Grills Candidates on Law Enforcement, Tax Exemptions, Flood Relief and Addressing 'Food Deserts,' The Advocate

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People from across the City of Jackson, including State Senators John Hohrn, David Blount and Solly Norwood, and Hinds County Sheriff Tyrone Lewis, joined Working Together Jackson's "We Care for South Jackson" Saturday morning rally. Bishop Ronnie Crudup announced that it is "evident that Kroger does not favor urban folk and urban areas" given their recent withdrawal of four grocery stores from Jackson. Leaders also pointed out that the city (with 180 thousand residents) now has only one grocery store, while suburban Madison (with only 20 thousand residents) has twice that number.

So far, WTJ has helped saved the jobs of 109 workers that would have been replaced, by assuring their relocation to other Kroger stores at their same pay, and secured commitments from the store to continue their support of local schools. Leaders continue to demand that Kroger refrain from putting a deed restriction on the property that would prevent another grocery store from coming in.

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Clergy of Working Together Jackson stood with workers at a press conference organized in the wake of Kroger's announcement that it would close its South Jackson grocery store. Clergy demanded the relocation of 109 otherwise unemployed workers to other stores, noninterference in local efforts to attract a new grocery store to this food desert and continued support for south Jackson public schools.

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"Mayor-President Kip Holden and the group Together Baton Rouge said Thursday that they have teamed up to try to find a solution to the problem of "food deserts" in East Baton Rouge Parish, which are areas defined by poverty and poor access to supermarkets and large grocery stores...."

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"Scotlandville has no shortage of convenience stores, but a true grocery store is hard to come by for this community of about 18,000 residents, according to Census data. And about 89 percent of these people live a mile or more from a true supermarket, said Edgar Cage, a member of St. Michael's and Together Baton Rouge, which has taken on the task of leading initiatives to make healthy foods more accessible to neighborhoods plagued by "food deserts" — whole communities where a grocery store is absent. "Scotlandville is the largest food desert in Baton Rouge," Cage said."

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