Food deserts need healthy restaurants too

BY SAM ESHAGHOFF

The worst part of developing workforce housing is the days spent in the eld. Whether monitoring construction projects or checking out new opportunities, I often nd myself in lower-income neighborhoods such as East Flatbush, Corona, Bed-Stuy and sometimes the Bronx. In these neighborhoods I can’t nd healthy food for the life of me.

Many neighborhoods in the city are classi ed as “food deserts,” meaning that you cannot nd healthy food within a reasonable cost and distance. If I’m in one of these food deserts and I want a prevalence of fast-casual dining, coupled with the boom in delivery services, has made it so easy for Manhattanites to access a variety of salads, bowls and other healthy food choices.

Workforce shift

Many people who live in food deserts work in Manhattan, so on weekdays they have access to the nutritious food options near their o ces. With much of the workforce shifting at least partially to remote work, however, a lot of these folks are stuck spending their entire day back in their food deserts, where they have to decide if they’ll get more nutrition from french fries or a chopped cheese.

GIVE DEVELOPERS INCENTIVES NOT JUST FOR SUPERMARKETS BUT ALSO FAST-CASUAL EATERIES

healthy lunch, the best I can do is the Filet-O-Fish at McDonald’s. If I’m lucky, I’ll nd a bodega that sells bananas, which will usually hold me over until I can get to a neighborhood with more options.

On the other hand, if you walk two blocks in Midtown Manhattan, you can’t miss the overwhelming o ering of healthy food options— from Pret A Manger and Cava to poke spots and vegan cafes. e

Fellow developers may be familiar with the city’s Food Retail Expansion to Support Health program, which in theory has been a promising mechanism to deliver healthy and affordable food options to select areas. Essentially, if a property is in a qualifying zone, developers may bene t from free additional oor area rights for building food stores that sell healthy foods, along with an increase in maximum building heights and potential tax incentives for the business. Developers should have no problem leasing some of these spaces to strong supermarket tenants who would love the opportunity to operate in areas with little competition. ese incentives are formidable boons to developers and food desert communities alike. Policymakers seem serious about creating this change: Over the years, the FRESH program has been loosening requirements and getting even more aggressive in qualifying properties. So where are all the supermarkets? It seems as if developers are either unaware of the evolution of the FRESH program or they’re not taking the bene ts seriously. And