At RAFI’s Food & Control event in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, the Come to The Table and Challenging Corporate Power programs worked together to introduce the Grocery Gap Atlas to participants from counties around NC. The Atlas is a tool that allows anyone to view the market share of grocery stores by census tract, county, and states along with a breakdown of a variety of metrics, including food access, market concentration, and socioeconomic disadvantage. As the Atlas was presented, hands shot up eagerly to contribute county names, and the resulting map display was met with surprise and disappointment for many of the participants’ own home towns. The reason why? In each county, the map showed an ongoing problem affecting their residents — corporate control overriding local markets.
While viewing Warren County, N.C., a Warren County native responded to the data, saying, “I knew this was coming.” The repercussions of the grocery gap are felt day-to-day through the take over of large chain stores and the depletion of the local economy as commodities are outsourced for a lower price. As one participant expressed, the best way to get a seat at the table is to “own the table.” The sentiments here are true — money talks, and it is money that drives big businesses to monopolize areas that may otherwise rely on their own local producers.
After learning to use the Atlas, the group discussed how they are affected by this issue in their work and daily lives. Around the room, participants shared their counties and explored the map while discussing possible plans of action to improve the situation in their area. Some ideas that rang out included investing in cooperative grocers, buying directly from local producers, and working to affect policy that could protect small businesses from the corporate machines that push the competition to an unreachable standard.
While the Grocery Gap Atlas revealed a shocking visual representation of how markets can be manipulated to benefit corporations, the group that joined RAFI in Rocky Mount was energetic in their pursuit of positive change and actionable solutions. Understanding the problem is the first step, and as this group learned, they are not alone in their hope to build a better system for themselves and others.
