Letters to the Editor: Hey, why not a new Trader Joe’s in South L.A. or East L.A.?

To the editor: Yay! More Trader Joe’s stores in Southern California! More options for affordable food! (“Trader Joe’s to open three new L.A. stores in 2025,” Dec. 31)

But still, after 58 years, there are no locations where the demographics are a little more, well, diverse? Nothing in areas that are known to be food deserts? Where markets are desperately needed? Where basic nutrition is a challenge?

The article quotes company marketing executives on the Inside Trader Joe’s podcast regarding criteria for new stores — population density, parking and accessibility — without taking a critical eye at the map.

The only store in South L.A. is next to USC. There’s nothing in East L.A. Don’t the rest of us deserve access to Trader Joe’s Mandarin Orange Chicken or the infamous Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups?

And while new Trader Joe’s locations are news, I miss the L.A. Times that would report the whole story and not just publish an article that reads like a company press release.

Jeannette Bronson, Los Angeles