Minneapolis neighborhoods face food desert after looting closes multiple stores

With Cub, Target, two Aldi stores and many small markets damaged by rioting over the past week, Longfellow and about eight other neighborhoods have nearly become a food desert.

“I consider the loss of these businesses devastating,” said Melanie Majors, executive director of the Longfellow Community Council. “Besides just the food, there’s a lack of retail for diapers, formula, household goods, even clothing.”

Many residents of the area shop lower-priced stores such as Aldi or dollar stores. Two of those dollar stores — including Family Dollar on Lake Street — were destroyed in last week’s looting and violence that arose after George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis police custody.
One Aldi store on E. Franklin Avenue in Minneapolis reopened Monday after power was restored to it. The frozen foods section had been cleared out due to the outage that started late last week, but shelves were being restocked Monday.

Amplifying the problem over the weekend and again on Monday was the fact that Metro Transit was not operating buses or trains. Public transportation will again be shut down on Tuesday.

Sylvester Hudson walked about 40 minutes from Fort Snelling Apartments to the Cub Foods at E. 46th Street and Hiawatha Avenue.

It is the only supermarket left in the Longfellow neighborhood along the light-rail line after four other supermarkets closed because of destruction during the protests.

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to catch a cab, so I’ll probably have to walk,” said Hudson, 70, who brought a two-wheeled cart for grocery transport, as he finished shopping at Cub Foods. “This is the only store left open in the neighborhood that I can walk to.”

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