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Armed security needed...for food

Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 9:44 pm
by Lighthawk
DETROIT (CNNMoney.com) -- On a side street in an old industrial neighborhood, a delivery man stacks a dolly of goods outside a store. Ten feet away stands another man clad in military fatigues, combat boots and what appears to be a flak jacket. He looks straight out of Baghdad. But this isn't Iraq. It's southeast Detroit, and he's there to guard the groceries.
In this recession-racked town, the lack of food is a serious problem. It's a theme that comes up again and again in conversations in Detroit. There isn't a single major chain supermarket in the city, forcing residents to buy food from corner stores. Often less healthy and more expensive food.

Source

Re: Armed security needed...for food

Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 10:03 pm
by Sionnach Glic
Not too surprising. With no money to buy food, it's not surprising that people may resort to violence to get something to eat.

Re: Armed security needed...for food

Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 10:25 pm
by Lighthawk
I know, but it is rather sad to see it happening in a major US city.

Re: Armed security needed...for food

Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 10:28 pm
by Mikey
This is Detroit we're talking about - I unfortunately can't say I'm at all surprised. However, why would the same economic pressures, and resulting reactions, not apply to a US city that would apply in - to use the article's example - Baghdad?

Re: Armed security needed...for food

Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 11:31 pm
by Lazar
CNN wrote: There isn't a single major chain supermarket in the city, forcing residents to buy food from corner stores. Often less healthy and more expensive food.
I've read articles in the past about that phenomenon occurring in inner city areas - they call it a "food desert". The industry decides to blacklist a whole population, which leads them to rely more on trash food.

Re: Armed security needed...for food

Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 11:38 pm
by Aaron
Not one major grocers in the whole city? Even East Vancouver has a Safeway FFS!

Re: Armed security needed...for food

Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 12:15 am
by Mikey
Cpl Kendall wrote:Not one major grocers in the whole city? Even East Vancouver has a Safeway FFS!
Yeah, but they only put that in for the Olympics. :wink:

Re: Armed security needed...for food

Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 12:31 am
by Aaron
Mikey wrote:
Yeah, but they only put that in for the Olympics. :wink:
:lol: You laugh, that BS is gonna bankrupt the city. :roll:

Re: Armed security needed...for food

Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 12:40 am
by Mikey
Depends on how they play it. They could leverage the Olympics to turn into a long-standing tourist boom, but it has to be done correctly.

Re: Armed security needed...for food

Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 3:25 am
by sunnyside
Lighthawk wrote:DETROIT (CNNMoney.com) -- On a side street in an old industrial neighborhood, a delivery man stacks a dolly of goods outside a store. Ten feet away stands another man clad in military fatigues, combat boots and what appears to be a flak jacket. He looks straight out of Baghdad. But this isn't Iraq. It's southeast Detroit, and he's there to guard the groceries.
In this recession-racked town, the lack of food is a serious problem. It's a theme that comes up again and again in conversations in Detroit. There isn't a single major chain supermarket in the city, forcing residents to buy food from corner stores. Often less healthy and more expensive food.

Source

You know, there was a time in the past where you'd have to take BS like this as true. However just using the google maps local search function for grocery stores or supermarkets in Detroit shows this as BS.

It's possible that by selecting a sufficiently small region to define as "southeast Detroit" you might be able to find a spot that qualifies. There isn't a supermarket every block.

But the implication that there isn't a major chain supermarket in the whole city is straight up false.

And c'mon, it's detroit, you should be able to get a car there. :P