Michelle Obama, who has made elimination of “food deserts” a
cornerstone of her campaign to end childhood obesity, announced
this week that several supermarket and drug store
chains—Walmart, SuperValue, and Walgreens among them—have
committed to finding ways to put healthier foods into low-income
areas. This week, the Food Marketing Institute released “Access
to Healthier Foods: Challenges and Opportunities for Retailers
in Underserved Areas.” The report summarizes the risks and
benefits of locating grocery stores, describes how to get local
governments to provide incentives, and gives some examples of
success stories. Mrs. Obama’s event was thoroughly covered by
ObamaFoodorama, which notes that recent research suggests only
minimal benefits from putting grocery stores into low-income
areas and observes that it’s going to take a lot more than just
better access to encourage people in underserved areas to eat
more healthfully. Some advocates worry that the access issue is
being used as an excuse for large reta