Nonprofit Helping to Bring Fresh Foods to the Inner City

Walk into any corner store in an inner city and you'll probably see a similar sight: some chips, candy bars, maybe cleaning supplies, lottery tickets, cigarettes and a few other sundries.

Romano's Grocery in Philadelphia, however, is a little different. There are fresh fruits and vegetables, glistening meats, fish and healthy bread. And perhaps most importantly, there's Juan Carlos Romano himself, a grocer who's there to help the customers work their way through his offerings.

Romano was the first client of Urbane Development, a group that helps inner-city bodega owners transform their stores from quick stops for all the unhealthiest products the country has to offer into old-style small grocers that can help bring healthy food into their communities.

Urbane Development is headed by James Johnson Piett, a social entrepreneur who exists somewhere between an accountant, a consultant, an activist and an investor. Now 31 years old, he got started working on urban food systems with an organization called the Food Trust, looking at applications for businesses looking to get public grant money to bring healthier food into inner cities. Soon, he began noticing something. Most of the applicants weren't large grocery stores but small businesses looking for an edge in a competitive market.

Especially in the wake of Michelle Obama's efforts to fight childhood obesity, much attention has been paid to bringing an adequate supply of fresh produce and healthy products into urban areas that have seen the worst of obesity and poverty in recent years.

But while others might focus on keeping big-box grocery stores from abandoning these neighborhoods like they've done in the past, Piett thought it would be more effective to leverage the assets these communities already had. Why bother courting large supermarket chains when the neighborhood is already stocked with small entrepreneurs?

"We're in a time when everyone is trying to bleed money from a stone, and with a corner store, there's existing infrastructure," he told AOL News. "You have entrepreneurs that have already shown commitment to selling food."

It's a tall order; getting suppliers used to working with giant stores to deliver to small groceries can be challenging, and many of these businesses don't have their accounting anywhere near in order enough to dramatically expand their operation. Piett says he spends a lot of time rooting through shoeboxes full of receipts in an attempt to normalize their business practices.

But the successes create a ripple effect, especially if other owners see those stores becoming profitable. And for cities like Detroit, making sure that basic amenities like food are taken care of is a crucial step toward attracting larger industry.

"These guys are really becoming grocers and not just busineessmen who sit behind plexiglass and sell lottery tickets," Piett says. "For every block there's four or five stores -- you get one of those stores doing a good job, and people start changing their traffic patterns.

"There's a lot of opportunity there. Small businesses make the world go round."

To keep up with Urbane Development, follow Piett's adventures at The Bodega Chronicles.