"CORNER" STORES

Why would people refer to a store as a “Corner Store”? Well, in Oakland, you will spot a store located on almost every corner. LITERALLY, on almost every corner. While riding around Oakland, within 5 blocks, I counted 3 stores. Making a left turn, what do I see? Another Corner store. What a surprise! It’s a shame how easy it is to get access to foods filled with nothing but sugars, salts and fats. Also, one thing I noticed this time while walking into a corner store from any other times was the consistency of children that are constantly coming in and out. When I was younger,Monday-Friday at 2:45, I would go straight to the store located at the end of block from my school. Each time, I would come out with a bag filled with chips because when I was younger, a small bag of chips was $.25. With a dollar, I was able to purchase 4. Realizing how easily I was able to get my hands on junk, its clear that children are being exposed to foods that are nonessential to their diet at an early age. This absolutely

will affect their health in the future and stats have shown that children living in poverty are at a higher risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Although it’s convenient to have access to a store located on the corner to satisfy our sweet tooth, but as a community, we need to realize that these corners store are going to cut the children in our community lifetime in half. Hot Cheetos, Lays Chips, Reese’s Cups, Grape Soda, Orange Soda and etc everyday will eventually kill our children. This is where malnutrition plays a huge role. Not getting the essential foods that are needed in our diet. That is the key issue that people in urban areas such as, Oakland, is facing.

-Fawnda