tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2851578678715572028.post3669350830817710211..comments2023-08-10T11:52:29.460-04:00Comments on Beyond Bread: Poverty Gets a New Measuring CupGreg Bloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08563081048614579716noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2851578678715572028.post-37068084907671951942008-09-08T18:54:00.000-04:002008-09-08T18:54:00.000-04:00Hey Mari,Thanks for taking the time to write that....Hey Mari,<BR/><BR/>Thanks for taking the time to write that. I picked 14th & P NW because that intersection is a very interesting one as far as demographics, and I used to work in that area so I also have some first-hand knowledge. There are plenty of examples in NE, SE, and SW (as you point out), but since I was familiar with this one it was my first thought.<BR/><BR/>Yes people can shop at any grocery store they would like, but that doesn't change the economics of the region. Other methods want to take the proximity of Whole Foods into account when determining an accurate poverty threshold (which, as I stated, is not that bad of an idea), but I think you could get a picture that is just as accurate by taking a percentage of the median income of the region. Using that percentage would not assume that people are shopping at Whole Foods like other poverty calculators would.<BR/><BR/>You're right that grocery stores are never a direct indicator of where people are shopping, but they are an indicator of how businesses are currently viewing the cultural and economic landscape of a community. <BR/><BR/>MMatt Siemerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03692867983123213449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2851578678715572028.post-62197718520702684282008-09-08T09:49:00.000-04:002008-09-08T09:49:00.000-04:00It's curious you picked 14th and P NW as oppos...It's curious you picked 14th and P NW as opposed to somewhere in NE, SE or SW DC. But the saw there is no metro around is bad. Would it kill anyone to walk up to 13th and U to the U Street metro or take one of several buses that goes up and down 14th. And as far as stores go there are smaller bedega kind of places tucked away in the more residential parts of the neighborhood.<BR/>I lived in that area before Whole Foods even showed up and there were other options. Yes, some of those options are no more but at least one (Giant at 8th & P) remains.<BR/>Don't willfully ignore the other options an area has and the option that people may actually do their shopping elsewhere besides the area where they live (like the area where they work).Marihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12378722789147387229noreply@blogger.com