What will it take for Mayor Stephanie Rawlings Blake and the Baltimore City Council to realize that it is their very own policies that are forcing many Baltimore city residents to live in "food deserts?"
In the June 10 story, "Report: One in four Baltimore residents live in 'food deserts,'" the mayor states: "Without growing healthier communities, we cannot live up to our greatest potential as individuals or as a city."
We couldn't agree more. But if the mayor wants more residents to have accesses to healthier foods and fresh vegetables, she should repeal the container tax. It is regressive, anti-business, unfair and provides absolutely no incentive for businesses to open new stores in the city. Baltimore's container tax is the only tax of its kind in the country. It has cost jobs and pushed Baltimore City residents into Baltimore County to shop.
Not only are consumers saddled with the tax, but small and large grocery stores that operate in the city are at a disadvantage because consumers are crossing into the county where they can purchase beverages without the tax.
As a result, jobs are being lost and some stores are simply shutting their doors because they can't compete. Facing plunging sales, Santoni's Supermarket in Highlandtown closed in 2013 after more than 80 years in business and blamed the container tax for the store's demise.
Earlier this year, the mayor proposed eliminating some fees on small businesses, which was a step in the right direction. But if she is serious about expanding grocery stores and wiping out food deserts, she must repeal the container tax.
Jeffrie Zellmer, Annapolis
The writer is vice president of government and community affairs for the Maryland Retailers Assocation.