Soccer The Solution To Grocery Woes

The Inquirer’s Jeff Gammage wrote a piece today recently-ish about what Chester residents want the new soccer team to bring — besides $47 million dollars of state money to build a soccer stadium for under a dozen games a year.

And what is it that they want from their soccer stadium? Oh, that’s right: A new grocery store.

In downtrodden Chester, the absence of so elemental an enterprise as a supermarket rankles. People want a well-stocked store not only because of the convenience but also because supermarkets can help transform the health and welfare of entire communities - offering nutritious vegetables, fruits and meats; increasing the tax base; and, not least, providing jobs for young people.

When many Chester residents need groceries, they shop at mini-marts or bodegas. Some travel to Eddystone, which has a ShopRite and a Wal-Mart. Some drive to Delaware. Others can’t, because they don’t have a car

Chester hasn’t had a grocery store since 2001. You know what they could have built in Chester for under $47 million? Not a supermarket, that’s what. Now that we’ve solved one poorer community’s problem of not having a market, it’s time to just build soccer stadiums across the country until everyone has a brand new ACME.

One goal of soccer deal: Close grocery gap in Chester [Inquirer]