Monday, Jul. 27, 2009 | 07:46 AM
Maria Valencia of Strathmore stands in a long line twice a month to get free fruits and vegetables. Then she packs them in a baby stroller and rolls them to her home several blocks away.
The produce giveaway by FoodLink, a nonprofit food bank in Tulare County, is one of the ways organizations are trying to bridge the grocery gap for thousands of low-income people in the central San Joaquin Valley.
Like many in this rural town, Valencia, 70, doesn't drive. She gets a ride to a major supermarket in Porterville once a month. When her food runs out, she walks to a neighborhood store.
Prices there are high, Valencia said in Spanish to Paula Cibrian, the FoodLink program coordinator. "But I pay what I need to pay."
FoodLink picked areas with high poverty and few supermarkets for the produce distribution, said executive director Sandy Beals.
Other efforts also are under way to help make life's staples affordable:
Food stamps
Fresno Metro Ministry is working to sign up more people for food stamps and to expand the number of outlets where food stamps are accepted.
A couple of farmers markets in Fresno accept food stamps, and more are joining the system, said ministry outreach worker Bee Lee.
Supermarket incentives
PolicyLink, a national institute that works to improve the lives of the poor, is trying to persuade governments to provide financial incentives for grocery retailers to open stores in low-income areas.
While the Valley has yet to benefit from this, the campaign has helped other low-income areas get supermarkets, said Rebecca Flournoy, PolicyLink's associate director. Pennsylvania invested $30 million in grants and loans to entice grocery retailers into low-income areas four years ago, Flournoy said.
With that investment, the state was able to attract $165 million in private money, Flournoy said. Access to supermarkets was improved for 400,000 residents, she said.
Free grocery shuttles
Vallarta Supermarkets offers a free shuttle service for customers of its store on Chestnut and Butler avenues.
A lack of affordable and reliable transportation keeps many low-income people from shopping at large, chain stores. Vallarta Supermarkets' managers said the shuttle service that takes customers home has helped business.
"It's well worth it," said Jaime Romero, district manager.
Help for rural markets
The University of California at Davis is helping rural stores buy refrigeration equipment for produce storage.
Sales of fruits and vegetables have gone well at stores that have bought the equipment, said Diana Cassidy, an associate professor in the university's Department of Public Health Services.
But it remains a struggle for the family run businesses to maintain produce sections, she said. "It's still a very difficult business to run."
