WORCESTER—For a state that leads the country in many quality of life metrics, Massachusetts also stands above the rest in a less-enviable ranking, that being the amount of food insecurity its residents face.
The recent announcement by a major local supermarket chain that it would shutter one Worcester and seven other state locations, particularly in low-performing (many serving some of the region’s poorest residents) stores, has prompted strong local reaction from civic and government leaders.
At this week’s Worcester City Council Meeting, for example, District 1 Councilor Jenny Pacillo voiced constituent concerns about the proposed closure of the Stop & Shop location at 545 Lincoln St.
Pacillo’s district includes the portion of Lincoln Street that includes the current Stop & Shop location slated for closure.
She lamented the loss of a local, “full-service” grocery store to which many of her district’s residents can walk.
“People deserve healthy, fresh foods,” she said.
Ultimately, Pacillo requested that City Manager Eric D. Batista meet with Stop & Shop representatives in an effort to get the closure decision rescinded.
Like many urban centers nationwide, Worcester is not immune to concerns over food insecurity.
A 2021 study advocacy group Hunger Free America reported that nearly six hundred thousand Massachusetts residents—and one in every eight children—struggled with hunger in recent years, giving the state the highest rate of food insecurity in the country.
“It’s heartbreaking that—because of low wages and inadequate safety net programs in the state—Massachusetts is in the midst of a hunger crisis, which devastates children, working adults, people with disabilities, seniors, and veterans,” Joel Berg, Hunger Free America’s CEO wrote.
Closing the Lincoln Street Stop & Shop is likely to only make the local situation worse, advocates suggest.
Alex Corrales, CEO of the Worcester Housing Authority, in a statement released earlier this week, said the closure would unfairly impact residents of Great Brook Valley, who “rely on this location for their food shopping needs…These are mostly low-income residents with children, and losing this particular supermarket will absolutely have a negative impact on them.”
For its part, Stop & Shop President Gordon Reid said the closings were “difficult” but that the closures would “create a healthy base for the future growth of our brand.”
Two months ago, Stop & Shop’s parent company, Netherlands-based Ahold Delhaize, said it would close underperforming stores across the company’s roster. Ultimately, the company opted to shutter 39 Stop & Shop locations, including eight in Massachusetts.
The company owns approximately 7,700 stores representing 16 brands in nine countries, with Giant and Food Lion alongside Stop & Shop domestically.
Worldwide Ahold Delhaize employs nearly 500,000.
Ted Flanagan is a journalist, novelist, and paramedic from central Massachusetts. During his time as a newspaper reporter he covered courts and crime for the Eagle-Tribune in Lawrence and was a general assignment reporter in the Fitchburg Bureau of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. He can be reached at ted@tedflanagan.com
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