Vine City Walmart's potential closure could recreate food desert
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
The Walmart on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Vine City has been closed since mid-December. Credit: Kristal Dixon/Axios.
It's been nearly a month since Walmart temporarily closed two of its stores in Atlanta, one of which serves as a key access point for residents who otherwise would have to travel miles for fresh produce.
Catch up quick: The stores at 1801 Howell Mill Road in Berkeley Park and 835 Martin Luther King Jr Drive in Vine City have been closed since mid-December after fires were set inside of them.
Why it matters: While shoppers of the Howell Mill store have options such as Publix and Kroger within a half-mile radius, Vine City residents are now left without a large grocery store that offers fresh food and produce.
- The closest large grocery stores are all more than two miles away.
Context: The USDA classifies low access to healthy and affordable food — commonly referred to as food deserts — as, among other things, census tracts with at least 500 people who live more than one mile in urban areas or 10 miles in rural communities from the "nearest supermarket, supercenter, or large grocery store."
What they're saying: Walmart has not returned repeated emails requesting comment. The big box retailer's Vine City location is boarded up and there are no signs of work being done.
- A sign on the door asks customers to visit its nearest location at 1105 Research Center Drive in southwest Atlanta.
Makeda Johnson, a Vine City resident, told Axios the closure is a "great tragedy for the community."
- Johnson said she and others worked hard to get Walmart to open its store in 2013 on the site that once housed Publix, which closed in 2009 due to poor sales, WSB-TV reported at the time.
- "It's going to be devastating, especially for seniors who don't have a vehicle and can't drive," she said.
What we're watching: City Council member Byron Amos, who lives in and represents Vine City, told Axios he and Mayor Andre Dickens' office are in talks with Walmart's leadership, which is still in the decision-making process about the Vine City location.
- To help ease the burden, he has asked Walmart if it can at least set up its Big Blue mobile pharmacy operation so residents can get their prescriptions.
- He said his constituents realize they need the store and "are really feeling anxious waiting for Walmart's decision to reopen or not."
- "I feel good about the decision-making process," he said. I just need them to go ahead and make the right decision."