Thanks To Tax Break, Park Heights Gets A New Grocery Store

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A big tax break may be the carrot some grocery stores need to set up shop in the city. Many city neighborhoods are in what health workers call food deserts.

Gigi Barnett explains how the city's plan will work to bring more fresh foods to shoppers.

"They can't get healthy foods and vegetables because there is no store around them," said Baltimore Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen.

It's called a food desert and blocks of city neighborhoods are sitting right in the middle of them. For at least 33% of Baltimore residents, that means no fresh fruits and vegetables---and a spike in disease and obsesity.

Dr. Wen is concerned.

"The number one killer in Baltimore City and around the country is heart disease and the major risk factor for heart disease is obesity," Wen said.

Well, now the city lawmakers have recently green lighted a plan to give big box grocery stores a deep tax cut---to the tune of 80% on their cash registers, freezers and other equipment. It may be enough to lure those stores into city neighborhoods.

Neighbors say they have to go out of their way to get fresh fruits and vegetables.

Because many city shoppers only have convenience stores available to them, Dr. Wen says her department is working closely with those corner stores to bring more healthy options until the city can attract more grocery stores.

The city's big tax break to stores won't last forever; it ends in 10 years.