By Jenna Zucker

BUFFALO N.Y. (Reuters). The Tops Friendly Market, which opened in 19 years, was a blessing for many in the area. They provide fresh grocery at reasonable prices, in an area often considered a food desert.

Prior to Tops, the residents of Jefferson Avenue, east-central Buffalo (NY) had to drive miles in order to find the supermarkets that suburb America has taken for granted.

Do you need a prescription to get a refill, birthday cake or salad fixings? For people who had never experienced such convenience, it was their one-stop shop.

According to residents, it became an important focal point of the close-knit community over the years. The store was located just down the street and is a welcoming place where you can meet old friends or make new ones.

According to authorities, Saturday saw the abrupt end of all that when a teenage gunman, driven by racism, launched a planned attack to kill and shoot as many Blacks as possible.

According to officials, the reason Tops was chosen by the suspect is that it’s the central point Black residents refer to as Tops.

It was necessary because we had to travel far from home in order to grocery shop and purchase the items we required. “So it meant a lot, and now it is gone from us,” stated Yvonda, a hairstylist who lives just down the street.

U.S. Department of Agriculture refers to areas that have limited access to affordable food. The USDA estimates that 54.4 millions Americans, 17.7% of all Americans, live in food deserts.

While not all people living in food deserts will be Black, there have been studies that show Black communities have more supermarkets than any other area.

A de facto racial gap exists between the East Side of Buffalo and the West side. This is evident in Buffalo’s second-largest city in New York.

According to a report from 2018, about 85% live east-of Main Street. It is a north-south thoroughfare which separates Buffalo’s east or west sides.

The report of Partnership for the Public Good (a community-based thinktank) concluded that Buffalo is not just where you will find healthy food. It also determines whether or not there will be quality jobs, schools, and housing.

Tops was able to fill some of that void in a limited way. Many Black residents now see the store as a stark reminder of racism’s everyday existence, even its worst form.

Christina Hanesworth, 38 years old, is a Buffalo-based client relations specialist. “I wonder if my kids would still be home if I had to go for milk. And if they’d ever come back.”

Tops, which is located in Williamsville outside Buffalo, stated that they would provide a shuttle service for free to the closest store, approximately 5 miles (8km) away. Officials from the city said that Tops and other companies are opening temporary food distribution centers a few blocks away from the closed store.