Butter sold by the stick. Kraft singles broken up and sold in small bunches gathered with rubber bands. Sometimes a few squishy onions and wrinkled split potatoes, hidden on stores' dark, dusty shelves.Cynthia Arvizo, a University of Rochester senior and 2007 urban fellow, found little fresh produce, skim milk or wheat bread in some 41 southwest Rochester stores she surveyed for a project conducted with the Southwest Area Neighborhood Association.The survey showed that 71 percent of neighborhood stores in Rochester's Sector 4 sell limited supplies of canned fruits and vegetables and only offer white bread and whole milk.Sector 4 is generally bordered by West Avenue, Genesee Park Boulevard and the Genesee River.Eighty-five percent of those stores sold no fresh fruit, and 73 percent sold no fresh vegetables.David Pihl, employment coordinator for SWAN, said the survey shows that residents without transportation must rely on poor food selection and, therefore, fall into the health traps that plague poorer populations, including obesity.The nearest grocery store, Tops Friendly Market, is on the outer edge of Sector 4, on West Avenue. Many residents must take a car or bus to reach it.Dr. Stephen Cook, a pediatrician at Golisano Children's Hospital at Strong who studies obesity, said researching where fresh food is sold is only one aspect of learning about nutritional problems in urban areas.Researchers must also find out what people are actually eating. But mapping food availability is an emerging weapon in the fight against obesity, he said."The next link is what are people consuming (and) where are they going to shop," Cook said. "There are people who live in neighborhoods like this and they're resourceful enough, they get themselves to a supermarket and do big shopping for the week."

But "so many people may not live that way," he added.

SWAN did the survey with the help of the urban fellow to prove the need for its newest program, the Westside Community Food System. The system has started by having some produce sold daily at the Montgomery Neighborhood Center on Cady Street, and will soon branch out into having a mobile produce stand visit subsidized and senior housing units daily in southwest Rochester.The van and produce will be provided by Foodlink and might start rolling in September. A schedule for the mobile produce stand has not been finalized."I think there is a market" for this, Pihl said. "People see it, they're surprised to see it and they're taking advantage of it."Rochester Mayor Robert Duffy, the former chief of police, said there is a problem citywide with corner stores: Some are fronts for illegal activity; at others, illegal activity outside the store discourages customers from entering. When there's a glut of such activity, fewer stores offer a full selection of groceries, Duffy said.The need for more grocery stores in Rochester's core is highlighted by residents' concern after the closing in April of the Wegmans Food Markets store on Driving Park Avenue. Duffy said negotiations were still going on for Wegmans to donate the land and building to the city in the hopes that another grocer can be located there."It's about more effective planning, more effective zoning practices and a focused recruiting strategy," Duffy said recently. "The city has to take a much more active role."Obaid Ansari, owner of the 7-Eleven store on Thurston Road, was among the few store owners delighted to see Arvizo when she showed up to conduct her survey. Ansari said he's wanted to sell fruit and vegetables but has had trouble getting farmers or a distributor to deliver a small amount of product. Ansari is working with SWAN and Foodlink to provide produce at-cost as a way to bring in more customers. "I think vegetables will increase my business — and get them to people who need them," he said.