I've been eagerly awaiting the opening of the new Fresh Grocery section of the Marble Hill Target (40 W. 225th Street) for a while now. I shop in Target all the time for baby essentials, home goods, greeting cards - you name it, I have shopped in Target for it. I have always found their prices on non-perishable food grocery items to be unbeatable, so I also do a substantial amount of food shopping there (when I'm not hauling ass up to the glorious wide-open aisles of the Stop & Shop at Cross County). I'm totally one of those dorks who keeps filling out their costumer surveys online in the hopes of winning a $5,000 Target gift card. Every time I fill one of those surveys out, I write, "Please add some simple produce to your food offerings...onions, peppers, lettuce, etc.!"Well, my prayers have been answered (well, at least they've been partially answered -- still keeping my fingers crossed to win one of those gift cards one of these days) - Target's new Fresh Grocery initiative has finally arrived at 225th Street!
After suffering through the renovations that rendered the store almost unusable all summer, I'm happy to report that the Fresh Grocery section is simply AWESOME. Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, peppers, onions, bananas, cantaloupe, lettuce, celery, oranges, and apples are just a few of the new produce options being offered by Target. Everything is extremely fresh and, best of all, very competitively priced. Even their non-perishable aisles seem to have grown.
Job well done, Target. Keep that fresh produce coming!
~ErLu
14 comments:
What grinds my gears about this is that this was most likely to capitalize on the "FRESH Food Program" which gives big tax breaks and great energy discounts to large supermarkets and corporations who increase their foot print of fresh produce in their stores.
My problem with that program is that you have to have a 6,000 square feet or more and it completely disregards the hundreds of bodegas which are already in place where people don't have a supermarket within walking distance. So it's a big f you to the mom and pop grocery stores and delis which are more readily accessible to a larger population.
Personally, I feel that the program should have been made available to ALL...not just the larger entities.
Ok I'm off my soap box.
This Target is in Kingsbridge, actually.
I AM SO PSYCHED ABOUT THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
thanks Boogie Downer!!!!!!!!
No Ryan the Target is in Manhattan. Manhattan is not an island as many have been taught. Marble Hill is in Manhattan, and the Manhattan county line runs up over the Broadway Bridge past West 225th Street.
The Marble Hill houses lie in both the Bronx and Manhattan. The three houses on Exterior Street are in the 14th Council District of the Bronx. The one house on the corner of Broadway and West 230th Street has been said to be half in the Bronx and half in Manhattan, ie. your living room in Manhattan and your bathroom in the Bronx.
From the picture shown there does not seem to be a lot of variety, as there looks like no more than 12 feet of space for produce (fresh fruits and veg.). Large stores like Target would have 48 feet or more dedicated to only produce.
Mayor,
I'm fairly sure Target did not participate in the City's FRESH incentives. Word even has it that some stores are passing on the opportunity because they don't want to make the committments the City requires, or "there's too much paperwork."
Your point about the lack of support for the local stores many people rely on is really important, even if Target didn't get subsidies for their change in business model.
Thanks 100PercentBronx- I didn't know the Marble Hill boundary extended so far east. I found a boundary map at this address: http://www.washington-heights.us/history/archives/marble_hill_116.html
This map indicates that the boundary goes right through Target (it seems it's mostly in Kingsbridge). Not trying to split hairs, but it's interesting.
I only make that comment because since the program was launched and I attended the seminar held by city and state at SoBro earlier this year (mostly to criticize their exclusion of smaller stores) I have seen many large markets and stores do so...the tax breaks and energy incentives are too great for even the likes of target not to go for it.
Oh la, la! Moving on up, moving on up!
We need Fresh Direct in The Bronx already... I'm sick of going to ANY supermarket. I want delivery!
Anon at 7:56... I totally agree about the BX's need for FreshDirect. Please call and send a letter requesting service for your area (find a letter you can cut and past on this facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=110903932283150&ref=ts) Make sure to read the profile's description; it is just for the NorthWest Bronx. We need others to start groups in other areas of the Bronx.
Sorry about the typo: "past" = "paste"!
Hey Mayor, I could see the city extending it to produce stores, but to bodegas and delis? I don't know one bodegero who would trade in the profit they make on beer, cigarettes, soda, and junk food to push fruits and veggies.
From what I understand, the program was created to promote healthy eating habits. Clearly bodegas are part of the problem, not the solution...
Sorry if you are a bodegero, but its the truth...
I wasnt as thrilled as I thought I would be. Costco has much better raspberries, and cheaper ones too, might I add.
I think Mayor is right. Excluding bodegas, small grocery, and community-led coops (ex. South Bronx Food Coop) is major problem. In "food deserts" access and affordability are key drivers of junk food sales and diet-related illness. We need start looking at bodegas as neighborhood intervention points for positive public health messages and demand our local owners make changes. This strategy has been very helpful in the South Bronx, Bed-Stuy, and Staten Island where initiatives, like Healthy Bodegas Initiative and Project Hospitality's milk campaign, concretely help owners take steps with economic incentives. Overall, my general comment is that I'm sort of excited that there are more overall healthy food options in Marble Hill. I've seen 2 NYC Green Carts on W225th outside Target alone. I hope this will drive furture community success and low prices.
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