Spartan Newsroom (https://news.jrn.msu.edu/category/news/business/retail/)
SAN IGNACIO CERRO GORDO, JALISCO, MEXICO – Benjamin Muñoz Moreno owns one of the many “abarrotes” stores in San Ignacio Cerro Gordo. In Spanish, abarrotes means groceries. In his small store he sells fruits, vegetables, bread, milk, cheese, chips, and more. His products come from local suppliers around the region and “fruterias” in the town. With the pandemic, he is facing many challenges to keep his business running.
Michigan retailers are among those benefiting from a virus-fueled interest in board games. The same pandemic restrictions that close movie theaters, bowling alleys, bars and sporting events fuel interest in tabletop games. Interest surged in the games that can be played with family and at small gatherings surged with distribution of stimulus checks.
To illustrate the jigsaw puzzle that explains health and food disparities in low-income communities, comparisons between two low-income communities, Flint and Detroit, reveal a lack of grocery stores with affordable prices and the abundance of fast-food restaurant are key challenges linked to adverse health issues such as obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes. “It basically confirmed that there’s a lot of junk food on kids’ menus in poorer neighborhoods of urban areas,” said Rick Sadler, assistant professor in MSU’s College of Human Medicine’s Division of Public Health — Flint campus, who co-authored in 2018 a study on how students who attend schools in urban areas with high levels of socioeconomic distress consume foods with low levels of nutritional value such as fast-food.
Fast-food frequency in Detroit
“The number of fast food restaurants are too many to count, but I would say more than 10,” said Detroit resident Darion Jackson. “It’s harder to find healthier options when all you’re surrounded with is fast food.”
This video recorded while driving through Detroit shows fast-food restaurants dominated city blocks. Kenneth Matthews, a Detroit resident, agrees with Jackson on the increasing number of fast food restaurant in the city. Systemic racism
Sadler credits systemic racism as the root cause for food disparities.
On this edition of Focal Point, President Donald Trump visits Lansing for the first time ever. Our team meets supporters and protestors at the rally. With admissions down at MSU, Jacob Lothamer investigates how the school is handling a $54 million loss in revenue. We preview MSU football’s massive matchup with Michigan and catch up with Jalen Watts-Jackson. Those stories and more on Focal Point.
Grand Ledge celebrated the end of its market season with a Fall Festival to help businesses react to the loss of annual events like the Island Festival and Color Cruise.
On this edition of Focal Point, a look at the recently announced changes to the Spring Semester and how MSU plans to keep students healthy while slowly reopening. Due to the pandemic, one East Lansing business is forced to close its doors, and graduating students struggle to find jobs. Big Ten football is back, but two MSU linebackers will not take the field after being arrested in September. Other varsity sports will not return at all after the Athletic Director announced swimming and diving have been cut. Those stories and more on Focal Point.
On this edition of Focal Point, Vice President Mike Pence rallies in Grand Rapids while local candidates adjust to campaigning during a pandemic. Local businesses also adapt to stay open. We visit a cider mill, a local bar, and the East Lansing Farmer’s Market to see how they are opening safely. One East Lansing bookstore is still in business because of support from the community. All those stories and more on Focal Point.
In recent years, it seems like Grand River Ave. only continues to become more populated with towering new apartment complexes or new restaurants. Yet through it all, the little brick sliver of a storefront between Snap Pizza and Tin Can has stood the test of time. Ray Walsh has been collecting and selling books ever since he stepped foot on Michigan State’s campus as a student. Now at 70 years old, he has spent more than half a century running the seemingly endless shelves of novels and comics at the Curious Book Shop.
Vendors at the Holt Farmers’ Market say they’re seeing more customers and a rise in income despite COVID-19.
As with municipalities in heavily-populated communities across the country, the city of Troy has been forced to undertake creative measures to ensure restaurants, hotels and retail establishments stay in business during the COVID-19 pandemic.
On this edition of Focal Point, a look at a busy week in politics. The FBI foils a plan to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer, the candidates for Vice President debate, the the Libertarian presidential candidate visits Detroit. On campus, over 700 student employees are out of work as COVID-19 continues to spread in Ingham County. But even as the pandemic continues, new businesses come to East Lansing. All that and more on Focal Point.
