Paul Bass Photo
Robert Frizzelle stopped in to his neighborhood junk-food outlet Tuesday only to encounter baskets of oranges and bananas in the front window — and a childhood memory swelling up inside him.
Frizzelle (pictured above) has lived in the Dwight neighborhood for 39 years. On a round of errands Tuesday morning, he popped into Adam’s Deli-N-Food at the corner of Platt and Edgewood. He made his way past the Little Debbies and Cap’n Crunch’s Crunch Berries to grab a bottle of Poland Spring from the cooler.
First he had to navigate past an assemblage of visitors present to inaugurate a new era at Adam’s and at two other mom-and-pop groceries in lower-income neighborhoods across town: The “Our Health Corner Store” era.
The three stores have agreed to stock more fresh fruits and veggies, baked snacks, no-sugar-added canned fruit, low-salt canned veggies and soups, low-sugar cereals, and low-fat or skim milk. They’ve agreed to promote the more healthful food prominently in the store, with help from the New Haven Healthy Corner Store Initiative, led by Yale’s Community Alliance for Research and Engagement (CARE) and the city’s health department. (The other two stores participating are Fair Haven’s Clinton Food Center and the Hill’s Congress Market.) The initiative follows a study of neighborhood groceries.
The idea is to combat diabetes, obesity and other health problems faced by often carless city shoppers who rely on the high-fat junk food at their neighborhoods’ mom-and-pops, which, like Adam’s, are often right by schools. Adam’s is across the street from Augusta Lewis Troup School.
So at Adam’s, Nature Valley Oats ‘N’ Honey bars, Baked Lay’s Potato Chips, and relatively lower-sugar cereals were on more prominent display …
… than the Cocoa Pebbles.
Frizzelle has shopped at the store in its various incarnations since his childhood. Back then the original Edge of the Woods natural foods store occupied the space, filling it with rows of bulk grains and organic produce, freshly-ground peanut butter, and tubs of tofu and tahini. While the new Adam’s lacks those features, Frizzelle welcomed the healthful upgrade and fondly recalled the Edge days. “I practically live here,” he said. “They’re good people.”
He was referring in part to owner Arshad Chaudhry (at right in photo above), 53, who moved here from Pakistan and opened Adam’s five years ago. He cut the ribbon on his new healthier offerings Tuesday morning with West River Alderman Yusuf Shah, who promised to join the store in becoming “more health-conscious.” Owner Chaudhry said he signed up with the new plan in the belief it’ll help him sell more food. “I’m pretty sure they will buy [the more healthful alternatives]. Everybody wants to stay healthy, right?”
Troup fourth-grader Taijhani Barrett (pictured) wasn’t sure at first. He and classmate Joesphine Portillo came by the ribbon-cutting to hand in pledge cards from students promising to shop with health in mind. Upon entering he was handed one of the pineapple-apple-grape fruit kabobs featured at the event.
Taijhaini ended up eating the kabob — and taking a second one of his own volition.
Andrea Anthony’s 2‑year-old daughter Salej had a fruit kabob, too, while mom purchased two bottles of Thirsty Squirts.
Another shopper, Keyon Nelson, who’s 30, picked up a loosie and passed on the more healthful fare. He praised the store’s change, though. “I haven’t seen it like this before. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
The health department’s Maria Damiani took a sugary soft drink from a a shelf in the middle of the store — not to buy it, but to make a point. “This is what we want to get rid of,” she said. “The blue juice.”