‘FRINGE’ STORES

In her study of Detroit's food deserts, Gallagher found that retailers in the federally funded Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that accept “food stamps” (in the form of electronic benefit cards) are primarily “fringe” food locations, such as gas stations, liquor stores, party stores, dollar stores, bakeries, pharmacies and convenience stores. Only 8% of Detroit retailers in the SNAP program are small, medium or large grocery stores or supermarkets, she said.

Most of the 1,100 Detroit retailers in the SNAP program studied by Gallagher were classified as convenience stores. But upon examination, she discovered that 56% of these “convenience stores” were actually party stores, liquor stores, dollar stores, bakeries and other venues. She did not evaluate whether these stores' food assortments met federal requirements for participating in the SNAP program “but we suspect that many do not,” she said in the report.

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In an interview last week, Gallagher said the U.S. Department of Agriculture nutritional standards for SNAP stores “are too low” and that many retailers “are not following the standards.”

In Michigan, electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards — known as Bridge cards — provide access to both food assistance through the SNAP program and cash assistance, noted Gisgie Davila Gendreau, marketing and public relations director for the Michigan Department of Human Services, Lansing, which administers these programs in the state. There are no limits to purchases on the cash side of the card, so nonfood stores can legitimately accept the card if cash funds are being accessed, she said.

According to Davila Gendreau, the EBT network is set up so that when the card is used to access SNAP funds, payment can be denied if the product is not a food item covered by the program. In addition, the Michigan Department of Human Services has an Office of Inspector General that focuses on card fraud prevention.

But the larger problem is that even legal food stamp purchases may not be enough in food desert communities, said Kami Pothukuchi, associate professor of urban planning, Wayne State University, Detroit. “You can buy a lot of really bad junk food with food stamps,” she said. “But if that's the only thing available in your neighborhood, then food stamps are not providing the healthy food benefit they were intended to provide.”

Another solution being piloted in Detroit is bringing farmers' markets to underserved neighborhoods. The Michigan Department of Human Services partnered with the Fair Food Network last year to bring four farmers' markets and a mobile food truck (called Peaches & Greens) offering Michigan-grown produce to Detroit communities. In an eight-week program called “Mo' Bucks,” shoppers spending up to $10 per week at the markets would receive a matching amount of money toward purchases. The program is expected to be repeated this summer.