Urban Supermarkets

There are 5-6 large ones within walking distance of my place, so it isn't a problem for me, but it is a problem in many parts of the city. They really are make-or-break neighborhood amenities, so I really applaud this program which is attracting them back to neighborhoods.

An innovative effort to bring supermarkets and fresh food to poor neighborhoods has been so successful, it has spawned imitators elsewhere and earned its creators a visit to the White House.

"We met for an hour-and-a-half with a bunch of [President] Obama's domestic policy people," said Philadelphia state Rep. Dwight Evans of his June 5 trip to Washington with other partners in the program. "They asked us to give them some ideas on whether this could become a federal program."

Called the Fresh Food Financing Initiative, the program has combined state funding with private money and the expertise of two Philly-based nonprofit entities to develop more than 60 food markets in under-served communities across Pennsylvania.