April 5, 2011, 8:30 pm

Go Philly!
By MARK BITTMAN
Mark Bittman on food and all things related.
Foodwise, among the most progressive cities in the country right now is Philadelphia,
where the alliance of a forward-thinking mayor and a 19-year-old non-profit is moving
things forward. Within a year or two, Philly might be funding better access to real food
for its poorest citizens by taxing soda. And if you accept the notion that childhood
obesity and the accompanying Type 2 diabetes are big problems, and youre aware that
soda is a major cause, youll agree thats a huge step in the right direction.
Even the present is encouraging, because Philadelphia is figuring out its residents food
needs and demonstrating that government and non-profits can lead the fight against
diet-related diseases by putting real food into the hands of people especially children
who have trouble finding and affording it.
In 2000, Philadelphia had the second-lowest number of grocery stores per capita of 21
major U.S. cities. Today, many of its poorest residents have improved access to
supermarkets and farmers markets; at some of the latter, their purchases are
subsidized. And Food Trust the nonprofit behind many of these changes is further
improving access by encouraging hundreds of Phillys corner stores to sell fresh fruits
and vegetables.
Philadelphia is demonstrating that government and non-profits can lead the fight against
diet-related diseases by putting real food into the hands of people who have trouble
finding and affording it.
Food Trust, which is funded by private foundations, government grants and individual
donors, is supported by Mayor Michael Nutter, a former city councilman from an
underserved (read: poor) neighborhood. Nutter took office in 2008; while on the Council,
he sponsored legislation that banned smoking in restaurants and bars, and hes a true
believer on the food-access issue: Im going to invest in this, he told me in the nearly
120-year-old Reading Terminal Market. It is to the long-term benefit of the city and our
health. Ultimately, its going to save us money.
After meeting with Nutter, I toured town with Food Trust staffers Yael Lehmann, Brian
Lang and others. We visited corner stores in North Philadelphia that have enrolled in the

Healthy Corner Store Initiative, which starts owners with a small cash bonus and, after a
trial period, gives them refrigerators (manufactured in North Philly) for stocking fresh
fruits and vegetables. (So far around 500 stores have enrolled in the program; most are
in the beginning stage.) Unlike the average corner store, these had piles of oranges and
bananas by the cash register, and small refrigerator cases with greens, tomatoes and,
in at least one instance, bags containing 50 cents worth of grapes sold out on the
day I visited. These are not huge changes, obviously, but theyre significant ones.
Another program, Philly Bucks, is a boon to both low-income residents and farmersmarket vendors, and similar to several others around the country. For every $5 in food
stamps people spend at participating farmers markets, they get an additional $2 in
credit: a 40 percent bonus. Seventeen markets now accept Philly Bucks, and foodstamp redemption at farmers markets has increased 130 percent since the program
began.
Significant, too, is the collaboration among Philadelphia, Food Trust and the state. In
2004 Pennsylvania set up a grants and loans program called the Fresh Food Financing
Initiative, encouraging the opening of supermarkets in poor neighborhoods. Since then,
26 new supermarkets have opened, rehabbed or expanded in underserved parts of the
city.
Nutter believes that by increasing access to real food and fighting the factors that cause
diet-related disease, these programs actually save money while improving the lives
and health of his citizens. But in order to extend them long enough to reap their
public-health benefits and confirm them in studies, he needs funding. Up until now,
money has come from a variety of Federal and state sources, but its difficult to imagine
the social service-gutting maniacs in Congress allowing that to continue.
The question for Philadelphia and the other cities with similar programs is how to
continue funding food-access programs once Federal money disappears.
Which brings us to the soda tax. Last year, Mayor Nutter proposed a 2-cents-per-ounce
tax on sugar-sweetened beverages. (This term is more encompassing than soda,
because it includes liquid candy like Snapple and Gatorade and excludes calorie-free
sodas.) The measure failed, as did similar measures in New York and San Francisco,
thanks to heavy campaigning by the beverage industry.
Not surprising: mention a soda tax and you get hysteria from people (only some of
whom are industrial-food shills) who claim that a soda tax is tantamount to a
government takeover not only of food manufacturing but of our lives. (Even more
incredible, there are people who believe a soda tax admittedly regressive is
somehow an attack on the poor, who have to get their calories somewhere. This is a
crueler statement than Let them eat cake.)
Imagine, if you will, trying to get our tobacco tax laws passed now. (Imagine getting seat
belt laws passed now or, for that matter, a bridge built!) Yet if a soda tax were

established, soda consumption would decline (good news), as would obesity (more
good news), while public health dollars would swell (even more good news). Then,
politicians would be encouraged to tax other disease-causing foods. And that would be
the best news of all.
Go Food Trust. Go Mike Nutter. Go Philly.
Visit my blog, where you can find out more about my columns, or what I just cooked.
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Note: Mayor Nutter was not elected, but rather took office, in 2008; that has been
corrected from an earlier version of this article.