Week 10: Planning for Distribution

Supermarkets to Inner-City Neighborhoods: Economic Development and Public Markets as Community Development Tools (2009) discusses markets on the essence of a community's identity. Markets are very valuable to a society as they provide the society a sense of place, labor participation, and entrepreneurship as they were actually the first "free" enterprise zone.
Socioeconomic benefits occurs in proximity to the markets as they create social and economic activities for both immigrants and citizens alike. The article thought it would be a great idea for planners to establish partnerships with among the stakeholders in the market system. These regulations are expected to reflect the individuals in the market system in order to progress their impact in the system in terms of both entrepreneurial and labor participation.




Three articles this week discussed farmer's markets, farmer's markets feel the gap that occurs between grocery stores and their consumers. Farmer market's is a composition of locally grown foods being sold at a single place, typically a day or two out of the week for a given community. Large cities, with their relatively far distance from the farms, benefit the most from food markets as the most densest and poorest areas tend to be food deserts. New Orleans and Los Angeles are both case studies the articles discussed and they address the concerns of food security. Their impact has increased their percentage of the U.S food market, with annual sales reaching 1 billion dollars, yet 1% of all sales. This number has only been increasing as Americans food consciousness is only increasing as the topic of food continues to turn heads in the upcoming years since their initial establishment in the mid 1970s.






In particular, the Farms to Schools reading is the most interesting one in my opinion as they are created to establish a relationship between schools and farms. As a result, children would have early exposure to farms and food early. With obesity and other diet-related diseases rates abnormally high throughout American cities, these experiences offer local fresh food in school menus. If these kids are eating beet reds in school cafeterias, they will soon also eat beet reds in the comfort of their homes. My middle school curriculum actually focused on agriculture, which is something I actually forgot after 4 years of high school and college. We use to plant crops, till soil, feed rabbits, and other amazing experiences that actually made me environmentally sensitive and conscious at a relatively young age. The Farm to School Movement is not exactly the same thing, as they get to eat their food as well. The Farm to School Movement goes further by educating children as the primary goal. The positive externalities include therapeutic experiences for children that may be suffering from both physical  and mental issues. Gardening programs, local food in school lunchrooms, and field trips to farms are all initiatives that the piece discusses for elementary school children.