/**/_jqjsp({"ChildContent":{"Index":0,"Items":[{"Credit":"Tim Swift, The Baltimore Sun","DisplayTime":"2014-03-07T18:25:00Z","Id":"p2p-79553375","LastModified":"2014-03-08T03:30:19Z","LastUpdateTime":"2014-03-08T03:30:19Z","MetaData":[{"Key":"AlternateThumbnailUrl","Value":"http://www.trbimg.com/img-531a00f3/turbine/bal-baltimore-supermarket-wars-20140307/400/16x9"},{"Key":"Body","Value":"\u003cp\u003eAnalysts expect the sale of the struggling Safeway chain to bring big changes to the supermarket industry. The field, which thrived in the 1980s and 90s is under tremendous pressure from new competition from big box stores such as Walmart and Target, drug stores like CVS and Walgreens, and specialty grocers from Wegmans to Trader Joe's. Data based on Food World's annual market share report.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e -- \u003ci\u003e By \u003ca href=\"mailto:timswift@baltsun.com\"\u003eTim Swift\u003c/a\u003e, The Baltimore Sun\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"},{"Key":"CreateTime","Value":"2014-03-07T17:24:31Z"},{"Key":"GroupCode","Value":"images"},{"Key":"LastModifiedTime","Value":"2014-03-08T03:30:19Z"},{"Key":"Publication","Value":"Baltimore Sun"},{"Key":"Slug","Value":"bal-baltimore-supermarket-wars-20140307"},{"Key":"SourceType","Value":"photogallery"},{"Key":"ThumbnailUrl","Value":"http://www.trbimg.com/img-531a00f3/turbine/bal-baltimore-supermarket-wars-20140307/187/16x9"},{"Key":"WebUrl","Value":"http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-baltimore-supermarket-wars-20140307-photogallery.html"}],"MimeType":"text/html","Section":{"Path":"/business","ProductAffiliateCode":"balnews","SectionAdZone":"biz/sf"},"Sequence":2,"Source":{"Id":1,"Name":"p2p"},"Title":"Inside the Baltimore supermarket wars","Type":"Gallery"}],"Layout":[{"Id":"p2p-79553375","LastModifiedTime":"2014-03-08T03:30:19Z","Overrides":[{"Key":"Title","Value":"Inside the Baltimore supermarket wars [Pictures]"},{"Key":"Description","Value":"Analysts expect the sale of the struggling Safeway chain to bring big changes to the supermarket industry. The field, which thrived in the 1980s and 90s is under tremendous pressure from new competition from big box stores such as Walmart and Target, drug stores like CVS and Walgreens, and specialty grocers from Wegmans to Trader Joe's. Data based on Food World's annual market share report."}],"Source":{"Id":1,"Name":"p2p"},"SourceType":"photogallery","Type":"Gallery"}],"Timestamped":"2016-03-02T16:57:09Z","TotalCount":1},"ChildContentCount":1,"Credit":"By \u003ca href=\"http://bio.tribune.com/YvonneWenger\"\u003eYvonne Wenger\u003c/a\u003e, The Baltimore Sun","Description":"Groceries to be delivered in Baltimore food desert","DisplayTime":"2014-07-29T22:30:51Z","Geocodes":[{"Description":"Cherry Hill, Baltimore, MD, USA","Lat":"39.2510969","Lon":"-76.6268306","NeighborhoodId":4368,"NeighborhoodName":"Cherry Hill","RegionId":51,"RegionName":"City South"}],"Id":"p2p-80936366","LastModified":"2014-07-29T22:33:20Z","LastUpdateTime":"2014-07-29T22:33:20Z","MetaData":[{"Key":"AlternateThumbnailUrl","Value":"http://www.trbimg.com/img-53d7de71/turbine/bs-md-ci-virtual-supermarket-20140729/400/16x9"},{"Key":"Body","Value":"\u003cp\u003eBaltimore's Virtual Supermarket is up and running for the first time in about nine months under a retooled program that makes free the delivery of groceries in one of the city's food deserts.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe city relaunched the program this month with two sites in Cherry Hill. Neighbors may order groceries from the ShopRite of Glen Burnie and pick them up at the Cherry Hill branch of the \u003ca href=\"http://findlocal.baltimoresun.com/search/results/type.venue?what=Enoch+Pratt+Free+Library\u0026amp;where=\u0026amp;sort=rating\"\u003eEnoch Pratt Free Library\u003c/a\u003e and Cherry Hill Senior Manor apartments.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLaura Flamm, the city Health Department's Baltimarket and food access coordinator, said the program should help eliminate food deserts in Baltimore. The goal is to make healthy food available in low-income communities that lack a full-service grocery store nearby.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe said she hopes the program will expand to more sites in the coming months.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"We would love to be serving as many sites as possible,\" Flamm said.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe program was halted temporarily when Santoni's Super Market, which had provided the groceries, closed in the fall. The online service was first offered in March 2010.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eUnder the relaunched program, the delivery fee —typically $15 — is to be covered with grant money from the United Way of Central Maryland and the Walmart Foundation, Flamm said. The program costs about $150,000 a year to operate.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCustomers don't have to pay for their food until it's delivered, which means they may use food stamps. Baltimore's Virtual Supermarket was the first in the country to accept food stamps for online grocery shopping and delivery.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnyone may order and pick up groceries from the library, but only Senior Manor residents will be able to use that site, Flamm said.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHealth Department workers and neighborhood food advocates will take orders on computers, Flamm said. They will also facilitate delivery and help figure out ways for the program to expand, she said.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe food advocates are trained individuals who are paid about $1,000 a year to help run the program.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePeople may place orders at the library from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tuesdays. Groceries are delivered to the library from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesdays.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOrders are accepted at Senior Manor from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays with delivery from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesdays.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFlamm said people also may order groceries using the Virtual Supermarket and ShopRite from Home website on any computer or smartphone. They may order anything in the brick-and-mortar ShopRite store, including non-food items such as toiletries.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ca href=\"mailto:ywenger@baltsun.com\"\u003eywenger@baltsun.com\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003etwitter.com/yvonnewenger\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"},{"Key":"CreateTime","Value":"2014-07-29T17:42:23Z"},{"Key":"GroupCode","Value":"stories"},{"Key":"LastModifiedTime","Value":"2014-07-29T22:33:20Z"},{"Key":"Publication","Value":"Baltimore Sun"},{"Key":"Slug","Value":"bs-md-ci-virtual-supermarket-20140729"},{"Key":"SourceType","Value":"story"},{"Key":"SubscriptionType","Value":"premium"},{"Key":"ThumbnailUrl","Value":"http://www.trbimg.com/img-53d7de71/turbine/bs-md-ci-virtual-supermarket-20140729/187/16x9"},{"Key":"WebUrl","Value":"http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-ci-virtual-supermarket-20140729-story.html"}],"MimeType":"text/html","RelatedContent":{"Index":0,"Items":[{"Credit":"By Michael Bodley, The Baltimore Sun","DisplayTime":"2014-07-29T02:42:00Z","Geocodes":[{"Description":"4601 Liberty Heights Avenue, Gwynn Oak, MD 21207, USA","Lat":"39.3308435","Lon":"-76.69494889999999","NeighborhoodId":4388,"NeighborhoodName":"Howard Park/West Arlington","RegionId":50,"RegionName":"City Northwest"}],"Id":"p2p-80930164","LastModified":"2014-08-01T13:53:47Z","LastUpdateTime":"2014-08-01T13:53:47Z","MetaData":[{"Key":"AlternateThumbnailUrl","Value":"http://www.trbimg.com/img-53d7b26e/turbine/bs-bz-shop-rite-howard-park-20140728/400/16x9"},{"Key":"Body","Value":"\u003cp\u003eResidents of one of Baltimore's many \"food deserts\" will gain more access to fresh meats and produce when what officials say is the city's largest grocery store opens Thursday in Howard Park.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe 67,000-square-foot ShopRite store reflects a push to bring healthier food options to neighborhoods that have long been without a full-service food market.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\"When you have an environment that is lacking in fresh food options, it will be harder for you to be healthy,\" Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said. She says there is a \"need, not a want, for fresh produce\" in the area.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe Howard Park ShopRite will package suburban offerings for an urban audience, said Marshall Klein, chief operating officer of Klein's Family Markets, which owns and operates nine ShopRite locations in the Baltimore region, primarily in Harford County. The Howard Park location is Klein's first foray into Baltimore, and it's a joint venture with the nonprofit UpLift Solutions.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eBrenda McKenzie, president and CEO of the Baltimore Development Corp., called the new ShopRite an \"important signal that there is money to be made\" in Howard Park and the surrounding area.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\"This truly is an anchor, so we're working with the community to see what project can be next so we can really build on the success of this and really activate new commercial activity moving forward,\" she said. \"We are looking to see where we can replicate this success in other neighborhoods.\"\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eBut the Howard Park store also demonstrates the challenges the city faces in attracting more supermarkets.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003ePlans for a grocery store in Howard Park date to 1999, when the Super Pride on Liberty Heights Avenue closed, leaving the area without a supermarket.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eRawlings-Blake said she has pushed for a grocery store in Howard Park since 2004. The city purchased the site at 4601 Liberty Heights Ave. from Rite Aid in 2009 but still had to persuade the drugstore chain to waive a restriction preventing a pharmacy from being built there.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eTax credits played a major role in ShopRite's move to Howard Park. The breaks helped fund the estimated $20 million cost of building and stocking the store.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe Reinvestment Fund, a national backer of low-income neighborhood projects, together with City First Bank and JP Morgan Chase contributed $14.65 million in capital through the federal New Markets Tax Credit program, which is designed to attract investors to low-income communities. A 2011 market study by The Reinvestment Fund found $60.9 million of grocery sales demand leaking from Howard Park each year, with no grocer to take the neighborhood's money.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eDon Hinkle-Brown, the fund's president and CEO, said the ShopRite represents a shift in focus that large national chains haven't pursued, embracing the challenges of a city and not settling for the \"easy money\" of the more affluent suburbs.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eGlord McGuire, vice president of the Howard Park Activity and Community Association, is one of many neighborhood advocates who met with the Kleins and city representatives over the last five years to help plan the ShopRite.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eHe said the company recognized the need to adapt to a community that doesn't have much disposable income.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\"They changed the concept, the strategy, because they know it's a necessity,\" said McGuire, who has lived in Howard Park since 1968. \"People need to eat. They're going to need food at a good price.\"\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eKlein said many products and services are tailored to the store, born from those years of discussions with the Howard Park community.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eFlame-grilled chicken will be sold as a healthier alternative to the plentiful fast-food joints in the neighborhood. The store also will stock Halal-certified meats to cater to local Muslims.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eA health clinic set to open inside the store in October, managed by Park West Health Care systems, will provide walk-in care, along with a pharmacy to fill prescriptions. It's what makes the ShopRite \"more than a grocery store,\" said Klein, pointing out that the lack of medical clinics in the neighborhood forces those with routine ailments to travel farther to urgent care facilities.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eJeremy Diamond, director of Diamond Marketing Group and a grocery industry consultant, said ShopRite has learned from the missteps of former inner-city competitors such as Stop Shop and Save, which is closing its last store after more than 30 years in the Baltimore grocery business.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\"The old way to run inner-city stores was in small stores with dingy lighting,\" Diamond said. \"Customers have shown that enough is enough. Customers can go to the suburbs and have this nice experience.\"\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe focus on fresh produce is a win-win for ShopRite, despite the section probably being the supermarket's least profitable, he said.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\"It's what's lacking in the city,\" Diamond said of fresh produce. \"And if that's what it takes to bring in the customers, then that's a great draw, and it's a healthy draw, and at the same time, it's showing the customers that ShopRite cares about their health.\"\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eKlein said the family-owned business has its work cut out in changing a Howard Park diet that for years has relied on limited offerings — leaning heavily on junk food and ready-to-eat-meals — in the absence of a neighborhood grocery store.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\"There's a perception that urban supermarkets don't sell a lot of produce,\" Klein said. \"That's not really true. I believe people who run urban stores don't merchandise effectively. People buy with their eyes. They want to eat what looks fresh, not what looks terrible.\"\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003ca href=\"mailto:mbodley@baltsun.com\"\u003embodley@baltsun.com\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003etwitter.com/michael_bodley\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAn earlier version of this article misstated which banks contributed capital for the New Markets Tax Credit program. The Sun regrets the error. \u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"},{"Key":"CreateTime","Value":"2014-07-28T22:21:53Z"},{"Key":"GroupCode","Value":"stories"},{"Key":"LastModifiedTime","Value":"2014-08-01T13:53:47Z"},{"Key":"Publication","Value":"Baltimore Sun"},{"Key":"Slug","Value":"bs-bz-shop-rite-howard-park-20140728"},{"Key":"SourceType","Value":"story"},{"Key":"SubscriptionType","Value":"premium"},{"Key":"ThumbnailUrl","Value":"http://www.trbimg.com/img-53d7b26e/turbine/bs-bz-shop-rite-howard-park-20140728/187/16x9"},{"Key":"WebUrl","Value":"http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-bz-shop-rite-howard-park-20140728-story.html"}],"MimeType":"text/html","Section":{"Path":"/business","ProductAffiliateCode":"balnews","SectionAdZone":"biz/sf"},"Sequence":1,"Source":{"Id":1,"Name":"p2p"},"Title":"City says largest supermarket to open in Howard Park after years of lobbying","Type":"Article"},{"Credit":"Lorraine Mirabella","DisplayTime":"2013-05-06T15:12:00Z","Id":"p2p-75797116","LastModified":"2013-05-06T15:29:55Z","LastUpdateTime":"2013-05-06T15:29:55Z","MetaData":[{"Key":"AlternateThumbnailUrl","Value":"http://www.trbimg.com/img-5187cccb/turbine/bal-consuming-construction-starts-shoprite-howard-park-20130506/400/16x9"},{"Key":"Body","Value":"\u003cp class=\"body\"\u003eKlein's Family Markets will start construction Tuesday on a long-awaited supermarket in Howard Park in northwest Baltimore.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"body\"\u003eA 10 a.m. groundbreaking will mark the start of work on a full-service, 68,000-square-foot ShopRite of Howard Park at 4601 Liberty Heights Avenue. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and other city officials are expected to attend.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"body\"\u003eThe neighborhood has been without a grocery store since 1999 when Super Pride closed.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"body\"\u003eThe Sun's Steve Kilar reported last month that Rite Aid of Maryland Inc., which held a legal restriction on part of the six-acre development site, \u003ca href=\"http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-bz-howard-park-rite-aid-20130411,0,974991.story\"\u003ehad agreed to allow construction to move forward. \u003c/a\u003eConstruction should be completed in 10 months, Howard S. Klein, general counsel of Klein’s ShopRite of Maryland, had said.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"body\"\u003eThe city purchased the land from Rite Aid in 2009, and the deed included a covenant prohibiting use of the site for a pharmacy. Klein’s had trouble getting construction financing until Rite Aid agreed to waive the pharmacy restriction. Rite Aid has a store less than a mile from the proposed ShopRite site.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"body\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"mailto:Lorraine.mirabella@baltsun.com\"\u003eLorraine.mirabella@baltsun.com\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"},{"Key":"CreateTime","Value":"2013-05-06T15:19:35Z"},{"Key":"GroupCode","Value":"stories"},{"Key":"LastModifiedTime","Value":"2013-05-06T15:29:55Z"},{"Key":"Publication","Value":"Baltimore Sun"},{"Key":"Slug","Value":"bal-consuming-construction-starts-shoprite-howard-park-20130506"},{"Key":"SourceType","Value":"story"},{"Key":"ThumbnailUrl","Value":"http://www.trbimg.com/img-5187cccb/turbine/bal-consuming-construction-starts-shoprite-howard-park-20130506/187/16x9"},{"Key":"WebUrl","Value":"http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/consuming-interests-blog/bal-consuming-construction-starts-shoprite-howard-park-20130506-story.html"}],"MimeType":"text/html","Section":{"Path":"/business/consuming-interests-blog","ProductAffiliateCode":"balnews","SectionAdZone":"biz/blog/consuminginterests"},"Sequence":3,"Source":{"Id":1,"Name":"p2p"},"Title":"Construction will start Tuesday on ShopRite of Howard Park","Type":"Article"},{"Credit":"By \u003ca href=\"http://bio.tribune.com/JamieSmithHopkins\"\u003eJamie Smith Hopkins\u003c/a\u003e, The Baltimore Sun","Description":"'Pantry on the go' — organized by steelworker families after their mill closed — taps a deep need in the broader community","DisplayTime":"2014-07-27T07:00:00Z","Geocodes":[{"Description":"550 Dundalk Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA","Lat":"39.28549599999999","Lon":"-76.54148299999997","NeighborhoodId":4399,"NeighborhoodName":"Orangeville/East Highlandtown","RegionId":52,"RegionName":"City Southeast"}],"Id":"p2p-80908682","LastModified":"2014-07-26T01:18:35Z","LastUpdateTime":"2014-07-26T01:18:35Z","MetaData":[{"Key":"AlternateThumbnailUrl","Value":"http://www.trbimg.com/img-53d2ff29/turbine/bz-bs-sparrows-point-food-20140727/400/16x9"},{"Key":"Body","Value":"\u003cp\u003eThe line formed by 8 a.m. Friday and grew for hours — men, women and children waiting under the summer sun for the doors to open.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWaiting for food.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eInside the Steelworkers' union hall on Dundalk Avenue, volunteers sorted cans, bagged produce and prepared for the onslaught. Some of them, too, need this food, trucked in by the Maryland Food Bank. Money is tight.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis \"pantry on the go\" — the largest the food bank supports statewide — transforms the hall into a striking example of coping with financial ends that won't meet, a life that's no longer middle class.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOrganizers have put it on almost every month for nearly two years, since the Sparrows Point steel mill closed. Spread over two days to make it more manageable, the mobile pantry draws an average of 2,500 people a month — former steelworkers, seniors, veterans and many others.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDamage from the mill's closure rippled widely in this blue-collar community. But the turnout for food speaks to a far broader instability, one pinching the wallets and stomachs of millions of Americans.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"When I was 18 and started working down the plant and felt like I had a job and I was set, if I worked here long enough I would have a pension and benefits to last me a lifetime — that was the illusionary world that we all grew up in,\" said Michael Lewis, a former Sparrows Point employee who's unwinding the local union for the United Steelworkers. \"We all know that world doesn't exist for working-class people; that world doesn't exist anymore.\"\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOne in every seven American households struggled with \"food insecurity\" — difficulty getting enough and outright hunger — in 2012, according to Feeding America's most recent Map the Meal Gap report.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMaryland's share is nearly that high, despite the state's overall wealth. About 775,000 people in the state were \"food insecure\" two years ago, up 19 percent from 2009 — the depths of the recession.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMany qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the federal help often referred to as food stamps. But many others don't. And those benefits were reduced last fall after stimulus funding lapsed.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Maryland Food Bank said it distributed four times more food in the fiscal year that ended in June — approximately 35 million meals' worth — than it did seven years ago. Yet need still outpaces supply. Since the recession, the nonprofit has seen a flood of new faces, people needing food pantries \"for the first time in their lives,\" said Deborah Flateman, its president and CEO.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJoblessness is part of the problem. So are jobs that don't pay enough to cover necessities. More than half the \"food insecure\" in Maryland are working, Flateman said.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"We find that very disturbing,\" she said.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Sparrows Point food pantry began as an emergency stopgap for newly unemployed steelworkers. Tracey Coleman, 44, whose husband labored at the mill for 17 years, got the gears turning when she called the food bank in July 2012 to ask for help.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTwo months later, food arrived for the first mobile pantry. Coleman has been in the midst ever since, coordinating, handing juice boxes to small children, offering recipients and fellow volunteers her thousand-watt smile.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDoors open at noon. A few minutes before that on Friday, a hundred or so people stood in line around the outside of the building, some leaning on crutches or walkers. They know from experience that the food can run out.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"It always pays to get here early and sit,\" said Bobby Wischhusen, 44, a diabetic Army veteran who comes regularly to supplement his $185 a month in food stamps. \"And you talk with nice people.\"\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eInside, the volunteers gathered near the door. Coleman thanked them, then reminded them of a fact that presses on her: As things stand now, Aug. 22 will be the last time the union hall can host the event.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith the steel mill two years gone, the union's two buildings on Dundalk Avenue are due to be sold. But the community need hasn't receded. Coleman needs a new location.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe couldn't dwell on that Friday. People were waiting to come in.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Smiles, everyone — smiles!\" she said to the volunteers.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen the doors opened, chaos did not ensue. The early folks know the drill. Fill out a federal form, because some of the food comes from a federal program. Then make a circuit through the hall, stopping at each table to get a can or two, a produce bag, a bottle of juice.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eVolunteers determined in advance how many of each item recipients could get, often one, sometimes two.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNone of it is name brand, save for the Sun-Maid raisins. No frozen meat arrived this time — occasionally it does. But there was variety in the cans: salmon, green beans, diced tomatoes, red beans and rice. The food bank's truck brought peanut butter and jelly, macaroni and cheese, and barbecue sauce to dress whatever meat recipients can get elsewhere.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd at the end of the circuit, fresh food: cucumbers, carrots, potatoes, cabbage and even watermelons.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eKaren Lusby of Essex, whose husband worked at Sparrows Point for 18 years, and Marsha Diggs of O'Donnell Heights, a mother of eight with no connection to the plant, stood next to each other in line an hour and 15 minutes in — eyeing the food coming out. Eyeing the watermelons\u003ci\u003e.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLusby got in first, looked around and called back: \"No more watermelons.\" The last one had just headed out the door.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDiggs nodded. \"I knew that was going to happen.\"\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut nothing else had run out yet. Lusby called the event a blessing, fresh fruit or no.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eKaren Burgess of Dundalk came out for the first time Friday. She said she has a bad heart and tries to stretch disability payments and food stamps to support not only her but her ill daughter, her grandkids and her elderly mother. This is the lean time of the month, when funds and groceries run low.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"It's hard,\" she said.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor many of the volunteers, too. They're mostly steelworkers, and the last two years turned their lives upside down.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYear after year, Point workers donated to the United Way of Central Maryland and the Maryland Food Bank. Then, suddenly, they needed the help. And they've needed it longer than they thought possible, with manufacturing jobs scarce.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMel Elste, 57, gets $410 a week — the equivalent of about $21,000 a year — in a federal retraining stipend to pay bills while she earns an associate's degree in criminal justice. The steelworker of 35 years is passionate about her new field, but she has a year to go and many pennies still to pinch.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"The food bank helps a lot,\" said Elste, a mother of two. \"We get our nonperishables from there — it doesn't last the month, but it helps.\"\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe's one of Coleman's most faithful volunteers. They didn't know each other before the mobile pantries started, and now they're best friends. Friday, Elste handed out food in a Rosie the Riveter T-shirt.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eColeman hardly stopped moving. She handed raisins (extra, because she's a soft touch) to 4-year-old Matthew Bayres, whose grin rivaled hers. She gave an old suitcase — donated by another steelworker — to a woman with nothing to put her food in. She tallied up the mounting numbers of people.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGrand total: nearly 1,700. Roughly the same number came out Wednesday, the first day of the two-day event.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen the doors closed at 4 p.m., almost all the food was gone. Leon Savoy, a former steelworker and new culinary school graduate, handed Coleman a piece of cake he'd made with the carrots, raisins and cranberries he'd picked up from the mobile pantry Wednesday.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eColeman qualifies for that help, too — between her teacher's aide job and her husband's new job as a heating and air-conditioning technician, they're making half of what he brought in at Sparrows Point. She surveyed what little was left Friday and figured she'd take some carrots and cucumbers home for her family.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThen a grandmother, mother and 1-year-old girl showed up, hoping for food. Coleman placed some into their cart and stood outside the union hall, thinking about its looming end.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe hopes she can find another location.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"We need it,\" she said. \"The community needs it.\"\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ca href=\"mailto:jhopkins@baltsun.com\"\u003ejhopkins@baltsun.com\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003etwitter.com/jsmithhopkins\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"},{"Key":"CreateTime","Value":"2014-07-26T00:51:42Z"},{"Key":"GroupCode","Value":"stories"},{"Key":"LastModifiedTime","Value":"2014-07-26T01:18:35Z"},{"Key":"Publication","Value":"Baltimore Sun"},{"Key":"Slug","Value":"bz-bs-sparrows-point-food-20140727"},{"Key":"SourceType","Value":"story"},{"Key":"SubscriptionType","Value":"premium"},{"Key":"ThumbnailUrl","Value":"http://www.trbimg.com/img-53d2ff29/turbine/bz-bs-sparrows-point-food-20140727/187/16x9"},{"Key":"WebUrl","Value":"http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bz-bs-sparrows-point-food-20140727-story.html"}],"MimeType":"text/html","Section":{"Path":"/business","ProductAffiliateCode":"balnews","SectionAdZone":"biz/sf"},"Sequence":4,"Source":{"Id":1,"Name":"p2p"},"Title":"In economically pressed area, waiting for food","Type":"Article"},{"Credit":"By Michael Bodley and \u003ca href=\"http://bio.tribune.com/YvonneWenger\"\u003eYvonne Wenger\u003c/a\u003e, The Baltimore Sun","Description":"Closures could cause 'food deserts' within city neighborhoods","DisplayTime":"2014-07-23T00:54:39Z","Geocodes":[{"Description":"Baltimore, MD, USA","Lat":"39.2903848","Lon":"-76.61218930000001","NeighborhoodId":4375,"NeighborhoodName":"Downtown/Seton Hill","RegionId":46,"RegionName":"City Central"}],"Id":"p2p-80870248","LastModified":"2014-08-01T13:53:46Z","LastUpdateTime":"2014-08-01T13:53:46Z","MetaData":[{"Key":"AlternateThumbnailUrl","Value":"http://www.trbimg.com/img-53ceddb0/turbine/bs-bz-stop-shop-save-closure-20140722/400/16x9"},{"Key":"Body","Value":"\u003cp\u003eAn inner-city Baltimore grocery chain is closing its stores, delivering a blow to Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's efforts to eliminate the city's \"food deserts\" and provide more residents with healthy eating options.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAn official of Stop Shop Save, a minority-owned business that has been a Baltimore mainstay since 1978, confirmed Tuesday that it had already closed five stores and will close the last one — on Harford Avenue in Oliver — leaving neighborhoods across the city without a convenient grocery store.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOne in five Baltimoreans already lives in a \"food desert\" — an area where grocery stores with fresh food are not within an easy walk. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCity officials say, though, that the closures reflect the competitive nature of the retail business and are not a setback to the mayor's strategy. Even factoring in the closure of the Stop Shop Save stores, the city has nearly the same number of supermarkets as it did two years ago — 43.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"When these things happen, it doesn't at all deter the mayor's resolve or commitment to those communities,\" said Kevin Harris, a Rawlings-Blake spokesman. \"The mayor doesn't turn a blind eye and say, 'Well, we've tried.'\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"When a store leaves, we stay with the community and work to provide additional options to them.\"\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe city said it already helped recruit Save-A-Lot to take over the local chain's Mount Holly and Upton stores.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAt least two other supermarkets are coming: ShopRite in Howard Park next week and MOM's Organic Market planned for the redeveloped Rotunda in Hampden when it opens late next year. The city will also relaunch its \"virtual supermarket\" project later this month with ShopRite, allowing residents to shop for groceries remotely and have the goods delivered.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe city is expected to update its food desert map in September, which will show the pockets in the city where poor residents, at least 40 percent of whom lack vehicles, must travel farther than a quarter-mile to shop at a grocery store that offers produce, meat and dairy.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhile Stop Shop Save CEO Henry Baines didn't respond to requests for comment Tuesday, Willie Brown, the store manager for the Harford Avenue location and a company employee for 27 years, confirmed the chain's closures.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Everybody else is already laid off,\" Brown said. \"We [are] the only ones left. We will probably close after we sell out inventory; it could be a couple weeks. They might say today is the day.\"\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhile it's not clear how many people lost their jobs, city officials say they connected displaced employees from the stores with job training.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJeremy Diamond, director at Diamond Marketing Group and an industry consultant, said Stop Shop Save could not be price-competitive with other discount grocers such as PriceRite and ShopRite, spurring city customers to travel farther to escape the food desert.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Stop Shop and Save, their focus was always on the inner city and appealing to the lower-income household,\" Diamond said. \"At the end of the day, the customers are going to look at their wallet, and if they can get the same product cheaper somewhere else they might hop on the bus or hop in the car.\"\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eStill, the closures of the Stop Shop Save stores create hardships for some.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA handful of shoppers Tuesday picked through goods remaining at the Harford Avenue store, strolling through near-empty aisles to take advantage of the last sale — a liquidation offering 30 percent to 50 percent off all items.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"The store is going to be missed,\" said customer Kevin Butler. \"It was a community favorite for everyone to come together and see each other and get groceries. I'm not sure where I'll go now.\"\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe pending closure is bad news for families without cars who say they can no longer walk to pick up provisions for dinner or stop and grab a snack.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOliver resident Nathaniel Noble said he's patronized his neighborhood Stop Shop Save for as long as he can remember, and he's sad to see the business on its last legs.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNorthwest Baltimore resident Yvonne Epps, who did most of her shopping at the Stop Shop and Save on West Cold Spring Lane, said the business saved her time and gas money.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"It all started so good, was so convenient — this has been going on for years here,\" said Epps as she shopped the Oliver store's liquidation. \"You're shocked at how things just ended.\"\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt's been a decade of decline for Stop Shop Save, once regarded as the nation's largest minority-owned grocery chain with 16 locations and hundreds of employees. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSales have fallen from $69.4 million in 2004 to $28.1 million last year, according to a market study by Food World and Food Trade News, which covers the grocery industry in the Mid-Atlantic.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eStop Shop Save stores in the 5600 block of the Alameda, the 3400 block of Clifton Ave. and the 2700 block of W. Cold Spring Lane have closed within the last couple of weeks, Brown said. The locations on North Monroe Street and Pennsylvania Avenue were the first to close.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWithout the backing of a large franchise, Stop Shop Save erred in stocking all of its shelves with the same products, as opposed to individualizing inventory to each location, Diamond said.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"From what I've seen from Stop Shop and Save stores, they have pretty much the same merchandising units they've had across all their stores,\" Diamond said. \"When you cater to the specific neighborhoods, you'll definitely draw in more customers and keep them.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Having a niche like that is extremely important, and that's what these [other] independents do so well: They know what a customer wants and stocks it for them,\" he said.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIndependent grocers operating in low-income pockets of Baltimore face additional challenges without the safety net of a corporate franchise like Giant or Mars to fall back on, said Jeff Metzger, publisher of Food World and Food Trade News. Technology is key to retaining customers, Metzger said, from implementing more efficient systems in-store to establishing digital rebate programs to keep them coming back.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eStop Shop Save faltered in recent years and has \"become rather static,\" Metzger said, by not investing in the company's future. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"It's a business that can be fruitful, but what it's not is a get-rich-quick business,\" Metzger said. \"And once you fall behind the curve a little bit, it's easy to slip into lesser significance rather quickly.\"\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBrenda McKenzie, president of the Baltimore Development Corp., the city's economic development arm, said officials tried to work with Baines for at least two years to find look for a buyer for the Stop Shop Save stores, finding some success with the agreement that Save-A-Lot would take over two of the locations.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMcKenzie said other grocery chains, including Aldi and Harris Teeter, have expressed interest in opening new locations in Baltimore. Recruiting more supermarkets also was a focus of city officials who attended the Las Vegas retail real estate conference in May that was hosted by the International Council of Shopping Centers.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTalks are continuing to find other outlets to take over Stop Shop Save's others shuttered stores, McKenzie said.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"We are still working,\" she said. \"It's a challenge and an opportunity for us. We have a really strong market, great neighborhoods and locations.\"\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ca href=\"mailto:mbodley@baltsun.com\"\u003embodley@baltsun.com\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003etwitter.com/michael_bodley \u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ca href=\"mailto:ywenger@baltsun.com\"\u003eywenger@baltsun.com\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003etwitter.com/yvonnewenger\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"},{"Key":"CreateTime","Value":"2014-07-22T17:39:24Z"},{"Key":"GroupCode","Value":"stories"},{"Key":"LastModifiedTime","Value":"2014-08-01T13:53:46Z"},{"Key":"Publication","Value":"Baltimore Sun"},{"Key":"Slug","Value":"bs-bz-stop-shop-save-closure-20140722"},{"Key":"SourceType","Value":"story"},{"Key":"SubscriptionType","Value":"premium"},{"Key":"ThumbnailUrl","Value":"http://www.trbimg.com/img-53ceddb0/turbine/bs-bz-stop-shop-save-closure-20140722/187/16x9"},{"Key":"WebUrl","Value":"http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-bz-stop-shop-save-closure-20140722-story.html"}],"MimeType":"text/html","Section":{"Path":"/business","ProductAffiliateCode":"balnews","SectionAdZone":"biz/sf"},"Sequence":5,"Source":{"Id":1,"Name":"p2p"},"Title":"Stop Shop Save to close remaining Baltimore locations","Type":"Article"},{"Credit":"By Carrie Wells, The Baltimore Sun","DisplayTime":"2014-07-26T19:47:00Z","Id":"p2p-80914960","LastModified":"2014-07-28T10:40:05Z","LastUpdateTime":"2014-07-28T10:40:05Z","MetaData":[{"Key":"AlternateThumbnailUrl","Value":"http://www.trbimg.com/img-53d3f287/turbine/bs-md-gun-buyback-20140725/400/16x9"},{"Key":"Body","Value":"\u003cp\u003eThey came with .22-caliber rifles wrapped in trash bags, Saturday night special handguns, rusted shotguns handed down from grandparents. A crowd of dozens lined up by 10 a.m. Saturday at a Northwest Baltimore church parking lot, most with gray hair and some leaning on canes or using hearing aides.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThey left with one $100 ShopRite Supermarket gift card per gun turned in. Many were skeptical that the gun buyback event would achieve organizers' goal of reducing city crime, though they were pleased to get something of value for guns that in many cases hadn't been fired in years or decades.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eJakiba Herndon, 35, brought two long guns with her in a plastic shopping bag. What kind of guns were they? \"I have no idea,\" she said. \"They're my grandfather's guns. He passed recently.\"\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eHerndon didn't think the event would make much of a dent in Baltimore's gun violence.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\"The people who are committing the crimes aren't turning in their guns, and their guns are probably illegal,\" she said. \"It's more people like us who have guns sitting around the house,\" who are turning them in.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eGun buyback events, intended to get guns off the street or to remove them from homes from which they could be stolen, are believed to have started in Baltimore in the 1970s. Organizers also hope they can be removed from homes where they might be used in suicides or accidentally fired by children. Studies have not found a clear link between the buybacks and a decrease in gun crime.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAt Saturday's event at New All Saints Catholic Church in Howard Park, 92Q radio DJs set up a tent and told listeners to come on by. ShopRite staffers handed out cookies to a line that numbered at least 40 people by the start of the event. Inside a church side building, Baltimore police officers inspected, tagged and cataloged the guns, no questions asked.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eBy the end of the event at 2 p.m., 231 guns had been recovered, according to organizers. \"This always gets a lot of guns off the streets and keeps the streets a little safer,\" said Michael Basher, director of a community development nonprofit connected to ShopRite.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eSeveral men holding signs that said \"$$$ Cash for Guns\" stood outside the event, trying to persuade people to sell their guns to them instead. They were later run off by the gun buyback organizers. One of the men, who declined to give his name, said they didn't want to see historic guns melted down. \"We're trying to save a part of history,\" he said.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eSamuel Jones, 53, said he bought his .357 handgun years ago when he was a correctional officer and no longer had a use for it. Unlike some of the other people at the buyback, he said he thought the event could achieve its goal.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\"It does lessen the crime rate if you don't have them on the street,\" he said. \"Some people may not have a lock so it's easy to [steal]. It's safer for the city.\"\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWillie Gregory, 70, said he bought his .22-caliber rifle about 40 years ago for his children to use for target practice. The gun hadn't been used in about that long. \"They weren't interested,\" Gregory said.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eRichard McCormick, 72, also had a .22-caliber rifle he wasn't using anymore, though he said he had other guns at home. He said he wasn't worried about thieves breaking in and stealing the guns.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\"Every time I go to the range to practice, I put the target on my garage so they know I know how to shoot,\" McCormick said.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003ca href=\"mailto:cwells@baltsun.com\"\u003ecwells@baltsun.com\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003etwitter.com/cwellssun\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"},{"Key":"CreateTime","Value":"2014-07-26T16:39:24Z"},{"Key":"GroupCode","Value":"stories"},{"Key":"LastModifiedTime","Value":"2014-07-28T10:40:05Z"},{"Key":"Publication","Value":"Baltimore Sun"},{"Key":"Slug","Value":"bs-md-gun-buyback-20140725"},{"Key":"SourceType","Value":"story"},{"Key":"ThumbnailUrl","Value":"http://www.trbimg.com/img-53d3f287/turbine/bs-md-gun-buyback-20140725/187/16x9"},{"Key":"WebUrl","Value":"http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-gun-buyback-20140725-story.html"}],"MimeType":"text/html","Section":{"Path":"/news/maryland/baltimore-city","ProductAffiliateCode":"balnews","SectionAdZone":"news/local/baltimorecity"},"Sequence":6,"Source":{"Id":1,"Name":"p2p"},"Title":"Baltimore supermarket swaps guns for groceries","Type":"Article"}],"Layout":[{"Id":"p2p-80930164","LastModifiedTime":"2014-08-01T13:53:47Z","Overrides":[],"Source":{"Id":1,"Name":"p2p"},"SourceType":"story","Type":"Article"},{"Id":"p2p-75797116","LastModifiedTime":"2013-05-06T15:29:55Z","Overrides":[],"Source":{"Id":1,"Name":"p2p"},"SourceType":"story","Type":"Article"},{"Id":"p2p-80908682","LastModifiedTime":"2014-07-26T01:18:35Z","Overrides":[],"Source":{"Id":1,"Name":"p2p"},"SourceType":"story","Type":"Article"},{"Id":"p2p-80870248","LastModifiedTime":"2014-08-01T13:53:46Z","Overrides":[],"Source":{"Id":1,"Name":"p2p"},"SourceType":"story","Type":"Article"},{"Id":"p2p-80914960","LastModifiedTime":"2014-07-28T10:40:05Z","Overrides":[],"Source":{"Id":1,"Name":"p2p"},"SourceType":"story","Type":"Article"}],"Timestamped":"2016-03-02T16:57:09Z","TotalCount":5},"RelatedContentCount":5,"Section":{"Path":"/news/maryland/baltimore-city","ProductAffiliateCode":"balnews","SectionAdZone":"news/local/baltimorecity"},"Source":{"Id":1,"Name":"p2p"},"Title":"City relaunches Virtual Supermarket Program in Cherry Hill","Type":"Article"})