Research compiled by the Pennington Biomedical Research Center shows the extent of food deserts in Baton Rouge. The Scotlandville community is located at the top with zip code 70807.
For over 30 years, Scotlandville hasn’t been able to attract a grocery store.
Mayor Kip Holden has tasked the new Food Access Policy Commission with figuring out how to get grocers interested in investing in the community again.
Wednesday, the commission is looking over feedback recently collected from grocers about the worries that have kept them away.
With nearly 26,000 residents living in poverty without access to fresh food within a one-mile radius, Scotlandville is the largest food desert in Baton Rouge.
A study from the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center is warning that the post-Katrina money which has protected southeast Louisiana from the worst of the national recession will start winding down. Experts are advising a regional approach to economic growth.
An artist's rendering of the proposed IBM building, which will also include almost 100 river-view apartments.
Credit IBM
Construction for the new building will be paid for with a public/private partnership not unlike that of the Shaw Center for the Arts.
Credit IBM
Projected cost total for the office building is $30.5 million. The state will finance $14.8 million of that, along with $3 million from the city of Baton Rouge/East Baton Rouge Parish, and and $12.7 million in Community Development Block Grant funds.
Louisiana, the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, and software company IBM are partnering to expand LSU’s computer science program, revamp downtown property, and bring 800 jobs to Baton Rouge.
IBM will open a new service center downtown in 2015, but will employ 300 locally in 2014.
Under the partnership, LSU’s school of engineering is expected to double its computer science faculty and jump to the top 15 nationally in number of graduates.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is pushing a new shopping method called “food hubs” to get more local produce to market. Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan made the announcement at the Hollygrove Market and Farm in New Orleans.
