Boston Ranks Low in Access to Supermarkets

Today is Tuesday, March 8. Here are five things you need to know.

1. This news is a few days old now, but I’m still catching up on what I missed while I was on vacation last week: The Bridge ran a great story in last week’s edition on a Neighborhood Council plan that could, effectively, extend the benefit of mitigation funds after they run out. First: What are mitigation funds? Money the neighborhood received from the state and Boston Redevelopment Authority – a sort of settlement for the development of City Square. The funds originally totaled about $1 million. The Neighborhood Council has been awarding grants to local organizations from the mitigation fund since 2003. But the money won’t last forever. And when it dries up in the next couple of years, it could be quite a blow to local nonprofits that have come to rely on it. So what’s the Bridge reporting? The Neighborhood Council is aware of this problem, and as such, members are looking into the possibility of hiring professional fundraisers to help the nonprofits stay financially fit beyond the mitigation support. A very forward-thinking and interesting proposal. You can read more about the plan here on the Bridge’s web site.

2. Speaking of interesting stories. I saw in the Globe this weekend that the state is ranked at the bottom of the list – nationwide – when it comes to having enough supermarkets with fresh, nutritious food, according to a new public health report. Massachusetts does especially bad in urban areas, including Boston, where there are, apparently, 30 percent fewer markets per person than the national average. Why is this bad? For lots of reasons, potentially, but here’s a biggie: Where there’s a lack of fresh, quality food, there is an increase in obesity, heart disease and diabetes. If you want to read more about the report and what the governor is doing to address this problem, check out the Globe story.

3. I know, I know. To many people in Charlestown, the high school is just a building that happens to be on Medford Street. Regardless how you feel about it, you have to acknowledge that the basketball team there has done some amazing playing this season. Sadly, the Townies took a major hit over the weekend: The boys varsity team had a shot at the number one spot in the state, but suffered a pivotal loss to Central Catholic on Sunday night. The story got a lot of coverage (though not so much locally) and if you’re interested, you can read about it on ESPN.

4. There’s a beautiful show at the now through the end of the month. Local collage artist Ekua Holmes has an exhibit there called “Pieces of a Dream.” This Thursday she’ll be on hand to talk about her work from 6 to 8 p.m. (If you want to go, it’s free, but you can bring some art supplies. They’ll be donated to support Haitian artists.) And if you can’t make it, you can on the exhibit.

5. Hey, good news: High near 41 today – and sunny.

For more info on what's happening in the neighborhood, visit our events calendar.