Econ Term Essay

Alejandra keys

Econ 1B- MWF 12pm

Term Essay

Article 3: Save Mart closing two Merced stores

“Why is a city with poor grocery store access and high unemployment, soon getting more of both?”

Merced is a city with poor grocery access in the South Merced area, and high unemployment. Save Mart has 3 stores located in the city of Merced. Save Mart supermarkets announced that it will shut down one of its three Merced stores and convert another to one of its Food Maxx stores. According to the Merced Sun-Star, “The move was made because both the stores were struggling” (North, 2012). The only solution to the struggling of both stores was to close down one of them and turn the other store into a Food Maxx. By turning on of the stores into a Food Maxx, the company is expected to save money. But the other Save Mart located in South Merced will not get replaced, they will completely shut down. South Merced is an area that already lacks proper grocery access and this will definitely make buying groceries harder for those who live in that South Merced area. There are many low income families, who live in that same South Merced area, who used to walk to the store to get their necessities. According to an article discussing the access of groceries to the poor stated “They have little choice. Traditional supermarket chains, which offer weekly specials and bulk-rate prices, don't often build in low-income urban neighborhoods or farm towns. And many who live in those communities can't easily get to a larger city. For the Valley's working poor, the "grocery store" often is on the corner or at the nearest gas station, where a six-pack of beer may be cheap, but a gallon of milk is not. Even those lucky enough to live near a supermarket often leave without the food they want because they can't carry it all home on foot or by bus” (Anderson, 2009).

Moreover, this decision has also affected those who work at the Save Mart stores. According to the Merced County Work Net website,...