[URBAN NOTE] "America’s loneliest grocer takes a stand"

[rfmcdonald]

The Toronto Star's Daniel Dale looks at the engaging story of a New Orleans man, one Burnell Cotlon, who is trying to set up a grocery store in the Lower Ninth Ward. His GoFundMe page is a worthy cause.

In the decade between Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the opening of Burnell Cotlon’s Lower 9th Ward Market last November, the isolated, impoverished neighbourhood most devastated by the storm had no grocery store and no fresh produce.

The nearest Wal-Mart was an easy 10-minute drive for residents with a car. For those without, a milk run was a 50-minute bus expedition.

Cotlon’s bowls of fruits and vegetables are a lifeline. And a symbol, however modest, of returning normalcy.

“People have come in here and cried,” Cotlon said. “I’ve had total strangers high-fiving me.”

The Lower 9th Ward Market was an abandoned apartment building before Cotlon bought the property for $4,000. In truth, it looks more like a low-budget convenience store than a grocery. The entire produce section fits on one table. The only breeze comes from portable floor fans set to high. Cotlon stuffs his small supply of milk into a fridge Coca-Cola gave him strictly for its soft drinks.

Cotlon confessed his violation unprompted, with an unapologetic smile. He was making a point.

“You have to make this work,” he said. “No matter what.”