Schiefelbein: SU’s Nelson learns real lessons

• By JOSEPH SCHIEFELBEIN
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: Aug 4, 2009 - Page: 1C

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Here’s what Isaiah Nelson found out this summer.

That what he’s learning as an agricultural major at Southern University has a real meaning, a real value and impact on people’s lives.

That there are places in America that are hurting to a degree that needs to be seen to be believed, not just be read about in a textbook or discussed in classrooms.

Also a wide receiver on the football team, Nelson spent two months working on an ongoing project with Dave Weatherspoon, an associate professor in agricultural economics at Michigan State.

“We spent the summer trying to find the latent demand for fresh fruits and vegetables in low-income areas in inner-city Detroit,” Nelson said.

“The area is known as a food desert, an area where there’s a lack of fresh produce. As a result, the city is poor in health. There are a lot of dietary issues and diseases.”

Some of the work involved observing the year-old Peaches & Greens, a produce store that has locally grown offerings and — get this — a delivery truck Nelson likened to an ice cream truck.

The study uses monthly sales figures to gauge the demand for fruits and vegetables in the area.

Nelson said there aren’t many stores that sell fresh produce in the area.

Demand, the researchers find, is “pretty high,” he said. And the delivery truck, with so many having little access to transportation, is vital.

For somebody who grew up in Baton Rouge, the conditions in the innermost parts of Detroit left a lasting effect.

“Some people compare it to New Orleans, post-Katrina,” Nelson said. “Some areas, almost every other house is abandoned. It’s a poor condition.”

Nelson said most major cities, in the inner city, are faced with this problem.