Thoughts on the new Englewood Farmers’ Market

Thoughts on the new Englewood Farmers’ Market

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I’ve been around long enough to remember when a weekly trip to the neighborhood supermarket was kind of an adventure. As a kid growing up in the ’50s, A&P was the dominant supermarket chain in the black community. These stores were fully stocked with all kinds of fresh fruits and vegetables. Fresh produce was very familiar to black folks in Chicago because many had migrated from the South where much of what people ate came from the land.

By the end of the millennium, A&P was long gone, and many of the other big name supermarkets had abandoned the inner city. Hopefully, there’s a change on the horizon. Next Thursday Englewood gets a new farmers’ market. I’ll be there broadcasting live at 3 p.m. This kind of experiment might spark renewed interest by the big supermarket chains to come back to the neighborhood. And just maybe, some of my friends and family will “back off” the Whopper with fries and a giant soft drink!