Whole Foods CEO, On Opening Detroit Store: 'We're Going After Elitism, Racism'

[Zacha341]

Walter Robb, Whole Foods CEO, On Opening Detroit Store: 'We're Going After Elitism, Racism'

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...n_3185204.html

From article:

Walter Robb, co-CEO of upscale grocer Whole Foods, says he's opening the chain's first store in Detroit for reasons other than just making money -- specifically, to take down elitism and racism.

Robb was one of five CEOs and chairmen who appeared Monday on a panel called "Value and Values: Building a High-Performance Company" at the Milken Institute's Global Conference 2013 in Los Angeles. The discussion was hosted by Huffington Post Senior Editor Willow Bay.

When Bay asked Robb about plans for the first Whole Foods storefront in the city of Detroit, he not only knew the date it was opening [[June 5th) -- he even knew the street corner where the store is currently being built.
"What we're trying to do in Detroit stretch the culture, stretch the mission a little bit." Robb said. "Culture is a living, breathing thing. It’s happening all the time. For us, in Detroit, I see thousands of communities across the United States don't have fresh healthy food."

Robb then addressed the concept of "food deserts." Many impoverished locations like Detroit are dubbed "food deserts" if the surrounding area doesn't provide access to fresh produce, meats and other healthy foods. While Robb admitted that the label was an "insulting term for that community," he also said that he sees the label as a reality.

"In Detroit, within the 138 square miles, the life expectancy is 12 years less than outside the city limits," Robb said. "That just happened to be, the story is too long for today, why we started there. We have a particular set of skills. We're going there to participate in the community."