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Violence at grocery store, allegations of racism – Winnipeg Free Press

Posted on by Neons

Opinion

The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs recently severed its relationship with grocery store Food Fare after two incidents in which lawyers accused employees of “racially” targeting local customers.

In response, one Food Tariff manager, Tariq Zeid, pledged to train workers, many of whom are immigrants and have little knowledge of indigenous peoples, in “conflict resolution, de-escalation techniques and appropriate responses to complex situations.”

Food Fare employees are likely to be targeting Indigenous customers. I don't know, and my attempts to find out have led to a lot of gossip.

MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs recently severed its relationship with grocery store Food Fare after two incidents in which lawyers accused employees of

MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS

The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs recently severed its relationship with grocery store Food Fare after two incidents in which lawyers accused employees of “racially” targeting local customers.

Clearly, this is not really a racial conflict, but one that stems from history, poverty, and Canada's affordability crisis.

Several sources (from AMC and elsewhere) have pointed out that at the center of all the violence at Food Fares is one simple thing: meat.

The problem may be the meat. Let me explain.

In a 2018 interview, I spoke with Russ Rothney and Louise Champagne, former owners of Neechi Commons, a community grocery store, craft co-op and restaurant in northeast Winnipeg.

It was shocking to learn that the store's decline was not due to a lack of shoppers or rising food costs, but theft, especially of frozen meat.

Everyone knows that meat is often the most expensive item in the grocery store. For people on a tight budget, meat (and decent options) is often out of reach.

Steak, pork, chicken and beef are some of the most successful products sold on the street.

The theft of frozen meat forced Rothney and Champagne, who ran a successful shop on Dufferin Avenue before it became widespread, out of business.

That interview was the first time I heard about the black meat market in Winnipeg.

Since then, I've told cops about trunks full of hamburgers, steak sales, and fistfights over meat prices and quality.

All of this may sound strange to those who have never tried paying for groceries, but it's true.

Frozen meat forms a large part of Winnipeg's underground market and seems to be a common denominator in food tariff incidents.

Check the evidence.

Last March, Winnipeg police arrested Keifer Kent, 32, and charged him with more than a dozen grocery store thefts and more than $10,000 in merchandise.

Major stolen items? Meat.

“In many incidents, the suspect attacks security or guards employees and threatens them with bear spray or a sharp weapon,” police said in a news release at the time.

Sound familiar?

The Free press reported two incidents of violence between local customers and Food Fare employees this spring: April 28 and May 5.

On May 14, another young man was accused of shoplifting and left, but later returned and confronted the workers, assaulting them and sending three to the hospital.

The cause of the incident is unknown and the investigation is ongoing, but what could have happened: was the teenager stealing food for himself or was he selling it?

Poverty makes people unwilling to enter the highly lucrative but highly illegal and dangerous drug trade and instead sell something that is easily stolen and sold at high margins.

Also, the proportion of theft in smaller shops, such as grocery stores, can be much higher, leading to more frequent violent incidents.

Ask any of the big box grocers in the suburbs and they will tell you that meat theft is their number one problem. Stealing from a large corporation often goes unnoticed or causes the business to fold.

Flesh thieves can also provide an important service.