Food swamps (pharmacies selling food, but mostly processed items)

Food deserts don't have a hard and fast definition, but are areas without access to fresh foods and vegetables, and usually lack traditional grocery store options. A lot of advocates say these stores should be in walking distance, best to be a quarter-mile or less.

But the trouble with this definition, at least in cities, is that grocery stores plan on a "retail trade area" of at a 3 to 5 mile radius. (It happens that where I live, I have one grocery store 3/4 mile away--a Walmart, and a Safeway and a Giant are each about 1.25 miles away, but in opposite directions.)

For example, while it is true that DC's Wards 7 and 8 have a limited number of full line grocery stores, they pretty much cover the ward from a 3 mile radius measurement, plus there are grocery stores just across the border with Maryland, which wouldn't be counted since they aren't in DC.

In rural areas, as places depopulate, they have real deserts, where it can be an hour or more to travel to a full line grocery store.

Drug store food sales.  Food swamps is a newer term, referring to the mostly processed foods sold by pharmacy chains like CVS and Walgreens, companies with many thousands of stores, especially in cities.  I didn't see an article in the Guardian, "'Food deserts' become 'food swamps' as drugstores outsell major grocers," about this, which appeared in June.

But it happens that last week I came across this data for DC while preparing a response to a planning study tender, and I was shocked to learn that CVS is the #1 seller of groceries in the city.

Economic size of the supermarket industry, food sales in Washington, DC. Data compiled by, and graphic from the trade magazine Food World.

(You can figure out the store sales average for DC proper pretty easily.  Although some sales are to nonresidents, especially of food ready to eat sold by Whole Foods and Harris-Teeter stores in particular, and similarly, DC residents do shop in grocery stores across the border with Maryland, for example there are Whole Foods and Giant Stores just across Western Avenue from Friendship Heights, a Giant across Eastern Avenue on Riggs Road in Maryland, etc.)

In the past, I've written about pharmacy store sales of food,because I was originally hopeful, and expressed my disappointment that the prices are so high.

It's true as the article discusses that the firms mostly sell processed foods, and junk foods too, outside of a bin of apples, a bin of oranges, and certain milk and dairy products. (I do buy milk at CVS to use up "Extrabucks" I've earned through loyalty discounts.)

Drug stores as urban convenience stores.  But I guess we need to think of these stores as functioning more like what "convenience stores" do in the suburbs, because at least in DC, convenience stores mostly sell junk food and beverages, with some dairy products.  (The 7-11 by my house has one 3 feet wide section, with food products like peanut butter and pasta sauce, in addition to the refrigerated dairy case.)

The first drug store that I remember being impressed by the array of food products was in Montreal, at the Pharmaprix/Shoppers Drug Mart chain. In the UK, Boots (they own Walgreen's now) sells a range of food, especially "grab and go" items.

Upscale convenience stores.  And increasingly, there are convenience store companies introducing more food centric stores ("The New Era of Convenience Stores: Premiumization," Aramark; "Meet the new convenience store," Supermarket News).  I've written frequently about the one-off Parker's in the Old Historic District in Savannah.

In DC, the growing independent Streets Food & Cafe firm has a convenience store at the corner of 13th and Massachusetts Avenue NW which is an excellent example of an upscale store.  Not cheap, but not out of the question price-wise.  Plus a goodly amount of quality foods, and upscale junk food.




The Silver Lake district of Los Angeles has a store positioned as an upscale convenience store, called Goods Mart ("The Goods Mart, a better-for-you convenience store, is now open...," Los Angeles Times). They have since expanded to New York City. I haven't been to the store, but it seems similar to other upscale markets, like Broad Branch Market in Chevy Chase. But Broad Branch doesn't have the equivalent of a high end Slurpee.

But Goods Mart's product selection criteria are more than just being upscale. From the article:

The 900-square-foot space features products that contain no artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners, growth hormones, hormone disruptors, nitrates, antibiotics, harmful pesticides and GMOs. Krupa also tried to reduce the use of plastics and offer organic cottons. She has banned single-serve plastic bottles as well. Just think of the store as the anti-7-Eleven. ...

The store carries pretzels, cheese puffs, candy and even a version of slushes, only the slushes at the Goods Mart are organic, made by Kelvin Slush Co., and come in paper cups. To mitigate the cost of the more socially conscious, higher-end products for customers, Krupa tried to work with local brands to offer variations on items at an affordable cost. The Goods Mart serves an 8-ounce drip coffee made by La Colombe for $1.25. The store will also sell “ugly” organic fruits and vegetables through Grubmarket, and carry Barnana products, which are made using cosmetically challenged bananas.