Research from the Food Marketing Policy Center at UConn shows little change or improvement in the number of supermarkets or the amount of store selling space in urban low income areas of Hartford, Bridgeport and New Haven. "Fewer supermarkets and less space in each supermarket translates to less opportunity for shoppers to make informed shopping decisions regarding product and service mix."
1The chart below shows some of the variations among Connecticut communities and access to shopping space.
| Town | 1999 population | 1998 # of supermarkets | 1998 sq. ft. of supermarkets |
Sq. ft. per person |
| Bridgeport |
137,040 |
7 |
255,000 |
1.9 |
| Danbury |
66,965 |
7 |
349,000 |
5.2 |
| Glastonbury |
29,122 |
3 |
94,000 |
3.2 |
| Hartford |
128,367 |
8 |
134,000 |
1.0 |
| New Britain |
70,010 |
3 |
123,000 |
1.8 |
| New Haven |
122,195 |
5 |
171,000 |
1.4 |
| Wallingford |
41,140 |
4 |
220,000 |
5.3 |
| Waterbury |
104,263 |
5 |
174,000 |
1.7 |
| West Hartford |
58,821 |
5 |
181,000 |
3.1 |
| Westport |
24,259 |
6 |
130,000 |
5.4 |
| Wethersfield |
25,172 |
3 |
146,000 |
5.8 |
| Windham/Willimantic |
21,316 |
2 |
83,000 |
3.9 |
Choice is not enough. Connecticut residents need to be able to get to sources of food. The Connecticut Department of Transportation, as a member of the Food Policy Council, recognizes that public transportation can play a key role in helping solve the problem of access to food.
Sources:
CT Dept. of Agriculture, Pick Your Own Fruits & Vegetables, Farmers’ Markets (March 2000).
NOFA Connecticut (Northeast Organic Farming Assoc. ) 2000.