An Associated Press investigation revealed supermarket chains that promised to expand into food deserts as part of a campaign to end childhood obesity have largely failed to do so.
Over the last four years, 36 new chain supermarkets opened in Indiana, but only three were in food deserts -- neighborhoods lacking stores with fresh produce and meat, AP found.
None of the grocery stores that opened in food deserts were in Northwest Indiana.
A total of 107 supermarkets opened in Illinois over the same period, and only six were within a food desert. It's so rare that Whole Foods got scads of media coverage for building a new store in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood, which has been plagued with high poverty and gang violence.
The USDA defines a food desert as an area where at least 20 percent of residents live in poverty and a third live at least a mile away from a supermarket if it's urban, or more than 10 miles away if it's rural.
Northwest Indiana has a total of 22 food deserts; Indianapolis has 24, the AP study found. No other area in the state has nearly as many.
Seventeen are in Lake County, four are in LaPorte County and one is in Porter County.
Northwest Indiana's recently opened supermarkets include a Super Wal-Mart in Hammond, an Ultra in Merrillville, a Save-A-Lot in DeMotte, and Strack & Van Til in Cedar Lake, Hobart and Valparaiso. None was in food deserts where residents are most in need of healthful, nutritious food, the AP found in its analysis of food stamp data. The AP data did not include the Whole Foods Market that recently opened in Schererville or the Ruler Foods store planned in a former Ultra location in Merrillville.
The study also does not include independently owned corner grocery or specialty stores. Miller Beach Market Place opened in 2013 in Gary, and it sells an array of organic produce. El Refugio Food Market, which opened in Lansing earlier this year, also sells fresh meat, dairy and produce.
"They do overlook neighborhood groceries," Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson said.
"I shop at Fresh Country Market all the time and Save More all the time, and they have good produce and meat. But everybody wants a Meijer or a Wal-Mart because that's what they're oriented toward."
Mayors in northern Lake County have said it's difficult to lure such national retailers, since they're looking at generic demographic information from a distance. Wal-Mart, originally skeptical about opening in Hammond, has had great success with its two city stores, Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. has said.
Highland-headquartered grocer Strack & Van Til has stores in Hammond and East Chicago, with some of those in downtown locations.
The downtown Hammond store on Sibley Avenue serves as an economic development linch pin for that area.
Freeman-Wilson said she understands why such chains would not automatically invest in food deserts, but said companies such as Whole Foods have had success doing so with the right product pricing.
"Groceries have a traditional way of looking at things, like the number of rooftops," she said.
"We certainly have rooftops in Gary with more than 80,000 residents. Some of the challenges include that the perception of crime adds concern about theft. But when companies come to the city, they find they are profitable. Family Dollar and Fresh Country Market are doing good business."
Image often repels retail investment in food deserts, Freeman-Wilson said.
"One of the things we're forever combating is the difference between perception and reality," she said.
"The perception is there are no dollars here, but that can't be the case when there are 80,000 residents. The perception is it's dangerous when for average citizens it's not a dangerous place. What's important is we talk to retail industry decision-makers so they're at least willing to explore the opportunity and see the reality."