Since Katrina devastated the city in August 2005, New Orleans has reclaimed its place as one of America’s prime food destinations. Many of the old standby restaurants have reopened, and new ones — like Scott Boswell’s pan-European Stella and John Besh’s Domenica — cater to the influx of younger residents and tourists with a taste for global flavors.
But grocery stores have not rebounded in the same way. Before the storm, there were 30 in New Orleans; today, there are 21. Most that have reopened are in wealthier neighborhoods: a Tulane University survey in 2007, the latest data available, found that nearly 60 percent of low-income residents had to travel more than three miles to reach a supermarket, though only 58 percent owned a car.
In the Lower Ninth Ward, one of the hardest-hit areas, the only stores within walking distance are dollar stores, which sell staples like eggs, milk and meat, but few fresh fruits and vegetables. “Grocery stores are a very basic need, but they are especially important in New Orleans,” said John Weidman, deputy executive director of the Food Trust, a Philadelphia nonprofit group that is working with the City of New Orleans to allocate $14 million of public and private money to encourage markets to return. “One of the things we’ve heard is that people who left the city are waiting for grocery stores to come back. It’s a signal that things are back on track.”