I can go to my local family owned Banh Mi joint and get a sandwich made with real meat and fresh bread for $6. For $12, I could add a boba tea and a side of fried dumplings.
Cool, I don't have one of those. I have subway, mcdonalds, burger king, and a bunch of local restaurants that charge just as much for food because they can.
Food deserts are real, and they show how onerous overregulation is.
All of the identical “I live in a food desert” comments here should be opportunities for entrepreneurship, but the costs of legally operating a food business are too damned high.
Agreed! The Person you Responded to is NONSENSE. It's ABSURD that the ONE Company that owns everything you need to get Started would make it Expensive for you to Start!
I actually think it's insane that to get started with a business these days you have to jump through so many hoops you need your own legal department or to do it illegally and hope the slap on the wrist is gentle.
Its in line with the monopolies using regulation and the idea that society will just be better with the restrictions to protect everyone that misses the point.
Advanced food storage and practices and tools will do a lot of making things better and OSHA should absolutely exist and be staffed but walls need to be shorter to inspire new entries into the marketplace without them being rich enough to jump it but without inspiration or hope to be competitive. Its why post war rebuilda are so popular for startups in the worst way.
But food deserts won't just be fixed by a new sandwich shop if there still isn't cheap ingredients.
Only works when you have local joints. That being said, I'm from Jersey, and I think we kinda pride ourselves on all things bread: pizza, bagels, and sandwiches. So when I hear motherfuckers getting Dunkin Donuts in the morning, Subway for lunch, and Dominos for dinner, it disturbs me.
Now, is there a time for Dominos? Absolutely. Is there a time for Subway? I guess you can be drunk on the afternoon, sure.
I'll actually use ShopRite in a pinch. I just know they're slicing up fresh ingredients there. Anywhere that opens up a container and pulls out meat is a no go for me. But we are spoiled here in the greatest goddamn state on the world, our taxes getting us fresh meats and soft breads with flaky crusts, and a peach iced tea.
Not sure if this is a local thing or not, but Dominoes has been consistently giving me a free medium pizza coupon after every pizza I've got from them for the last 12 months or so. So that's like 3 or 4 times they've done that
I can get an entree and a Thai tea for under $10 as a lunch special at a small restaurant within walking distance. I live in the second largest city in my state which happens to be one giant sprawling suburb.
And if you don't have any local places nearby you can either break yourself financially by moving somewhere else or just go fuck yourself. I never realized how much shit was jacked up in the small country town I lived in until I moved somewhere with a ton of competition. Suddenly the prices were way better, it was surreal. Food was cheaper and tastes better. Hell my Internet was twice as fast for half the price!
My apartment, however, is twice the price for a third of the space.
It still took me a decade before I could move without fucking myself.
This comment was written in the early wee hours of the AM and I'm not entirely sure what I'm rambling about.