Food Deserts in the Shoals?

If you're of a certain age, you remember when grocery shopping meant tagging along as your mother trudged the aisles of Hill's (later Winn-Dixie), the A&P, or Kroger looking for bargains. Small supermarkets were for emergencies only. Then Florence hit the big time with Food World. The Shoals had arrived.

But the much maligned Walmart chain changed all that when it targeted certain states for a barrage of highly touted stores with their own grocery built in. One by one, the older stores folded...even Alabama's beloved Food World. 

Sure, there's Publix if you want to mount an expedition to the nether side of Florence. And Walmart? It too has become part of the area one could call "Gateway to Killen." What about those who live downtown or on the Westside?

Recently there have been suggestions a rather dubious small mini-mart (is that redundant?) will close to make way for a new assisted living complex. That will leave only Fred's to serve the downtown area. Fresh produce? Forgettaboutit!

2018 has seen two Florence markets closing, both in the immediate area of a Walmart. Apparently these grocery wars are still going on. Yes, that's what competition is about. Stores will open and close with regularity, but longtime customers are the victims. How many Cherokees are out there? Or West Florences? 

In the mean time, we're sure many thank God for canned vegetables.