In light of the Jamaican Plain Community meeting last Tuesday, where the overwhelming majority of attendees opposed the new Whole Foods store in the neighborhood, Whole Foods spokesperson Heather McCready confirmed to us via email today that Whole Foods plans to respond to the residents’ comments “early next week.” As McCready told us:
The statement from our regional president will be available by early next week. We are unable to issue any statements beyond that at this time.
We also requested an interview with Whole Foods executives, but have yet to get a formal response. As for other developments in this story, we reported a statement from Boston City Councillor Ayanna Pressley yesterday about the new Whole Foods store replacing the HI LO supermarket in the neighborhood. The HI LO, which has been a fabric of Boston’s Latino community for over three decades, has closed and will be replaced by a new Whole Foods store.
Whole Foods Facebook Pages Launch
Social media will be playing a role in this story, as @stevegarfield of Boston has launched a pro-Whole Foods Facebook Fan Page called We Are All Whole Foods. The purpose of the page is to offer positive news about Whole Foods as company and as a benefit to the JP community. Garfield, a Boston social media influencer, has been actively promoting this page to his social media network. Last night, Garfield tweeted the following comment about gentrification: “.@mrchrisallen “Gentrification brings in Yuppies, but it stops shootings.: #jpub”
According to Universal Hub, Jamaican Plain, a neighborhood going through typical transitions that occur in major urban neighborhoods, has witnessed nine shootings in the neighborhood in the last year, with two of those shootings results in homicides.
In the meantime, another Facebook page called Whole Foods: Listen to JP, launched today as a place where residents and other interested parties can provide comments about Whole Foods’ plans. It will also offer links to news articles about the story.
JRV.com is committed to provide coverage on this blog. We did reach out to all Boston politicians with an interest in this story, including Mayor Tom Menino, State Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz, State Representative Jeffrey Sánchez, Boston City Councillor Felix Arroyo, Boston City Councillor Matt O’Malley, and Boston Councillor Pressley. So far, only Councillor Pressley has released a statement about the story.
Franky Benítez 
According to media reports, the city government has helped the Hi-Lo workers files for unemployment, participate in a job fair sponsored by Whole Foods, and work with Career Centers to find new opportunities. Tony Barros of the Mayor’s Office has also been working with local bodegas to get them to expand their inventory to compensate for Hi-Lo’s loss. Yvonne Abraham and Wagner Rios have written excellent pieces which note the City’s efforts.
Yes, I agree, but the fact that only Councillors Pressley and O’Malley have talked with us, but we have yet to hear from Rep. Sánchez or the Mayor’s office after several attempts is disappointing. The fact also remains that Whole Foods will not gaurantee the former HI LO employees jobs, just interviews. Getting on unemployment, although helpful, doesn’t pay the bills. I do know about the local bodegas and what the Mayor’s Office is doing there, but why do the bodegas have to take on more inventory. I have read both Abraham’s and Rios’ pieces, but I still think that Councillor Pressley has political courage to make the statement that she did. The reality is that the perception of Whole Foods coming to JP is not so rosy for many JP residents, who happen to be Latino.
Thanks for commenting!
Why should WF provide to give the Hi Lo employees jobs? I think that WF should definitely interview the Hi Lo employees.
Why do people have the double standard for expectations of WF vs S&S or Hi Lo?
If a new coffee shop went into Velouria’s space, would you have the same expectations? Or what about the new pizza place that has gone in where La Puposa was?
Why are you using my name as an email?
Todd, thanks for the comments, but I am a bit concerned that you are using my name in a fake email. Please change it? Thanks!
Hi Julio,
I create a custom email address for any site that I sign up for or post from to reduce spam.
Todd
Cool. Just curious.