The Problem
The most prominent problem in the entirety of the neighborhood of Roseland is food. Residents are unable to buy produce, or healthy foods in general. Instead, the neighborhood is riddled with fast food establishments. corner and liquor stores. Because of this many Roseland residents, who already live in poverty, cannot get to or afford healthy food, leaving them improvised and malnourished.
In the late 80's, when Roseland first entered it's decline, many businesses left. these businesses included department stores, steel mills, and grocery stores. As these stores left, so did jobs and residents. This caused trouble for the people who stayed, as they couldn't find jobs or food. This lead to Roseland being infested with fast food restaurants unhealthy food.
As you can tell by this map, most of Roseland ( Community Area 49 ) is located in Roseland. In this area, a small part has one of the highest impacts on diabetes in the city. Considering the fact that the average income is below the Chicago average, and 19% of residents are below the poverty line, it is understandable that residents cannot afford to transport to far away grocery stores via car of public transportation. Because of this, people have to receive all the food from non grocery stores like corner and liquor stores. Until people are easily able to find and eat healthy foods, Roseland is going to continue to struggle as a neighborhood.
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This map of the Roseland area further demonstrates the problem. Within the defined boundaries of Roseland, only one official grocery store ( Save-a-Lot) is located within the Roseland limits. The rest are located in neighborhoods such as Chatham, Auburn Gresham and Burnside. This means Roseland residents have to travel outside their neighborhood in order to receive healthy food, and this is not okay.
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