Jennifer Williams, a young mother of two, lives in an East Baltimore neighborhood where corner stores and carry-outs are the only places to shop.
Yet Williams and other carless residents of inner-city "food deserts" are not as stranded as they might seem. They regularly shop at full-sized supermarkets miles from home by catching rides in hack cabs. "I go all the time - twice a week," she said.
Illegal and notoriously dangerous, unlicensed cabs are an unlikely ally in the search for affordable and healthful food. Yet hacks are such an accepted part of "making market" in Baltimore that some stores issue company badges to drivers.
At some stores, supermarket hacking is a highly organized enterprise, governed by the protocol of a private club whose "captain" runs the operation like a taxi stand. The hackers are not store employees, but some markets run background checks before allowing them to pick up customers out front. That puts riders at ease even as it creates a startling disconnect: Businesses are making sure people aren't criminals before letting them break the law on their property.
"We don't call them hacks, we call them courtesy drivers," said Bill Stanfield, assistant manager at Food Depot in Northeast Baltimore, which runs checks on drivers and provides them with store IDs. "All stores have what you call courtesy drivers."
Supermarket hacks have been around for decades, and riders describe them as a community service as much as cut-rate cab. For many supermarkets, hacks have become an essential link to their customer base, which explains why they turn a blind eye or explicitly endorse them by running background checks and issuing IDs.
"That lets the customer know - we're saying, 'These guys are OK,' " said Harold Waters, manager of Stop Shop & Save in Southwest Baltimore.
But background checks do nothing to make hacking legal or safe, said city police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi. "I don't care if the grocery store gives you a red badge, you're operating an illegal cab."
Operating a hack cab is a misdemeanor, and the rider can face a charge of hitchhiking.
"When we spot them, we cite them," Guglielmi said. But that can be difficult. "It's not like they have a sign on their car, 'I'm a hack.' "
In addition to being illegal, hacking can be dangerous. The Police Department does not keep figures on violent crimes associated with hacking, but Guglielmi recalled that in August, three men were charged with gang-raping three women in separate incidents after they offered them rides.
