Virtual Supermarket in Charm City
Staff Writer
2011-02-01
.dmvblogspot.bloggieblog.com .
Baltimore City like many other cities across the country has taken an interest in the health of their citizens. Virtual Supermarket is a new term that has come from Baltimore City Hall.
Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake joined Council President Bernard “Jack” Young, Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot and others to announce that the Baltimore City Health Department is expanding Baltimarket: the Virtual Supermarket Project (VSP) to two new locations.
Baltimarket-VSP is an innovative model for facilitating food delivery into neighborhoods with low vehicle ownership and little access to healthy foods using an online food ordering system. Baltimarket-VSP is currently operating at the Washington Village and Orleans Street Enoch Pratt Free Library branches, but will be expanding to the Cherry Hill library branch on February 24 and to its first school, George Washington Elementary, starting today.
“The Virtual Supermarket serves a critical need in communities where opportunities to buy fresh fruits and vegetables are limited,” said Mayor Rawlings-Blake. “All city residents deserve the same access to the resources and opportunities necessary for promoting and preserving health throughout life.”
Baltimarket-VSP enables neighborhood residents to place grocery orders at their nearby library branch or school once a week and receive their groceries the following day at the same location. Health department staff will assist residents with ordering. Delivery charges are paid by the health department, eliminating a major barrier to home online ordering.
Funding for the continued operation and expansion of the program is made possible by grants from the Walmart Foundation ($100,000) and the United Way of Central Maryland ($55,250). The program would not have been able to continue without the initial help from the Walmart Foundation.
“At Walmart, we are dedicated not only to fighting hunger but also to making healthier foods more affordable and readily available to families, especially those in underserved areas,” said Keith Morris, director of public affairs for Walmart. “We are proud to partner with Baltimore City on the Virtual Supermarket program and provide support that will help address the challenges of food deserts around the city.”
“The Baltimore City Health Departments Virtual Supermarket Program aligns with the United Way of Central Maryland's goal of helping central Maryland residents meet their basic needs. We are happy to be associated with and support this important program as it provides access to healthy and affordable foods to communities with limited resources for healthy eating,” said Mark Furst, president & CEO of the United Way of Central Maryland.
All of the VSP sites are located in “food deserts,” or areas without access to healthy food options. The surrounding neighborhoods were identified as having the greatest need for the project. Washington Village has the sixth highest mortality burden out of the 55 city community statistical areas for causes of death related to diet, including heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. The Perkins/Middle East neighborhood ranked 19th in this category. The Cherry Hill neighborhood has the third highest heart disease mortality rate in Baltimore City.
“In order for people to live longer, healthier lives, we must begin to address the significant health disparities that remain between different groups of our residents,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot. “Increasing access to healthy foods is critical to our efforts to improve health outcomes by reducing cardiovascular disease, Baltimore’s No. 1 killer.”
Other key partners include the Enoch Pratt Free Library, which offered to house the program; Santoni’s Supermarket, a long-time Baltimore City grocer and currently the primary provider of supermarket items for the program; and the Center for Design Practice at Maryland Institute and College of Art (MICA), which provided marketing/branding support. Baltimarket-VSP has also partnered with the Y of Central Maryland, Cherry Hill Development Corporation, and the University of Maryland Extension EFNEP Program to help increase food access and provide nutrition education to the residents of Baltimore.
Order placement and pickup information for the four locations is as follows: Accepted forms of payment include cash, debit cards, credit cards, and EBT (food stamps). For more information on the Virtual Supermarket Program, visit our website at
http://www.baltimorehealth.org/virtualsupermarket.html(External Link)