Nearby grocery stores are difficult to access by foot or public transportation, advocates say.
AURORA, Colo. — The announcement of the closure of a Walmart near the corner of East Colfax Avenue and Havana Street has people who live in the area and advocates for the community concerned about access to fresh food.
The Walmart Neighborhood Market at 10400 E. Colfax Ave. will close on June 7. The company said the decision to close was based on several factors including historic and current financial performance.
Area advocates say the closure may put pressure on community organizations to provide fresh food, as the area lacks affordable grocery stores.
“You're making it a lot more burdensome for people who utilize SNAP benefits or can't make it to and from somewhere within a certain timeline because of public transportation,” said Emily Goodman, Housing Campaign Senior Manager for the East Colfax Community Collective.
“To remove an entire large grocery store with some of the only affordable food in the area, I don't have a solution other than like, we need something present because the food desert will always continue.”
Martha Perez, who lives in the neighborhood, said she frequents the market because it is close and she doesn’t have a car.
“That’s where I find everything fresh, meat, vegetables, all of the food,” she said. “I will have to go someplace else, look in another place, more expense and worse.”
Several markets are located along that corridor, but many lack fresh produce and meat. And the markets that do provide those staples often can’t compete with the prices at Walmart or can’t accept SNAP benefits for lower income neighbors.
“I think it's going to put a lot more pressure on community resources and agencies to provide more access to food pantries and food banks,” Goodman said.
Kayla Birdsong runs a non-profit called Fresh Food Connect. It gets homegrown produce to community organizations to distribute to those in need. She said the store closure could impact the community’s health.
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“I've really seen how much impact grocery store access has to communities and their wellbeing and their nutrition,” Birdsong said. “I think people are going to have a lot harder time getting fresh food. I think it's going to mean that community members are going to be getting fresh food less often.”
Birdsong, who lives in the neighborhood as well, said many in the community have limited to no access to cars, which makes a trip to another grocery store miles away difficult.
“It may not seem like a big deal to drive a couple of neighborhoods away to get the food that you really want,” she said. “But when you don't have access to that transportation, as is very common in this neighborhood, people aren't going to be able to access it.”
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