Lourdes Sanchez Ridge is a Cuban-American, who for most of her 15 years here has been disappointed at the lack of Hispanic food in Pittsburgh supermarkets.

	Steve Mellon, Post-Gazette Lourdes Sanchez Ridge Click photo for larger image.

And by Hispanic she means not just Mexican, and certainly not Tex-Mex. As she put it, "I do not like spicy foods and I do not eat tortillas."

A mother of three and an attorney for Thorp Reed & Armstrong, Ms. Ridge has been active in the local Latino community and knew other immigrants from various parts of Central and South America who also missed a variety of foods they grew up on.

She tried to get supermarkets to add products, even complimenting the one where she shops for adding some Mexican brands, but mostly kept getting lip service -- all talk and no action.

Last June, Ms. Ridge, then vice president of the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, met with David Atkins, director of natural and specialty foods for Giant Eagle. He said changes were in the works at some stores and welcomed her input.

So Ms. Ridge sent e-mails to all her contacts asking what kind of foods they'd like to see offered.

They flooded her with lists of items and brands, which she compiled and sent on to Giant Eagle.

When nothing seemed to happen, she said, "I thought this is more lip service."

Then, shopping at the Village Square Giant Eagle earlier this month, Ms. Ridge, the new president of the Hispanic Chamber, happened past the frozen entrees and saw Latino specialties such as papas rellenas, or mashed potatoes stuffed with seasoned ground beef.

"I was in complete shock," she recalled. "I said, 'My gosh, these people actually listened!' "

So again she sent out an e-mail to all her contacts, sharing the good news: "The Hispanic food section has more than doubled! If you haven't seen the frozen foods, please go for a treat," such as empanadas (filled pastries) and empanada pastry discs, tostones (fried green plantains), ready-to-serve ropa vieja (or "old clothes" shredded beef).

Ms. Ridge doesn't buy many prepared foods, but was "ecstatic" to be able to buy the Brazilian soft drink guarana -- and in diet no less -- jarred sofrito, the base for many Caribbean dishes, and even round Cuban crackers.

"I would say it's basically almost everything we asked for," she said, noting that others in the community are noticing, too, and are as thrilled as she is.

Giant Eagle's Mr. Atkins also is pleased and calls this the first phase in what he wants to be a continuing dialogue on "how can we do a much better job of understanding Hispanic consumers and meet their needs." The chamber and Ms. Ridge are on board with that.

He lauded her "diligence" and said her lists figured directly into the configuration of the "sets," or aisle displays, of Hispanic foods at Giant Eagle stores.

The Village Square store and the store on Centre Avenue in Shadyside have the biggest selections, but Hispanic and other international categories are being added at other stores as Giant Eagle creates "Worldwide Food" aisles.

Mr. Atkins said sales figures at the Shadyside store have been strong in international foods.

"We're finding there's a lot of growth there. Not only because we're becoming more of a melting pot ... but also because people are becoming food enthusiasts."

Pittsburgh may be a bit behind, but it's sure to see more effects of the booming Hispanic market. The nation's largest minority group (about 14 percent of the total), the Hispanic population in the U.S. has grown four times as fast as the general population since 2000.

As noted in the press coverage around the big Fispal "Taste Latino" food trade show in Miami Beach earlier this month, researchers say that the 43 million-plus Hispanics in the United States now spend $700 billion a year and a good chunk of that on food to be consumed at home.

Pittsburgh's not as big a Hispanic market -- Ms. Ridge estimates that, including substantial numbers of undocumented Latinos, the metropolitan area's Latino population has doubled since 2000. That's when the Census counted 17,100 Hispanics in Allegheny and six surrounding counties. (County estimates for 2005 are to be released in July; the 2004 estimates for the metro area total 19,598, which would be an increase of 2,498 or 14.6 percent in four years.)

More Hispanic offerings are showing up at some other supermarkets. In Beechview, where many Mexicans have settled, the Foodland store has an end-of-aisle display of products including nopales (cactus) and menudo (tripe stew). The Banksville Plaza Kuhn's Market's Mexican array has widened to nearly half an aisle, including masa and mole. (Store officials did not return calls for comment.)

Many Foodlands and Shop 'n Saves are independently owned and operated. Jim Hurley, a manager at the Shop 'n Save store in South Fayette, said it and its four sibling stores have Hispanic items in their international sections for customers who want them, but hasn't needed to expand them lately. "As things change and as the market demands, we're flexible and we have to meet those demands."

So far here, the shift seems to be gradual. As recently noted in this section, you can find queso fresco, or Mexican fresh cheese, at the North Versailles Wal-Mart Supercenter, which has a large display of Hispanic food (a manager says stores survey customers and stock what they want).

More small Mexican stores have popped up, including Veracruz Tienda Mexicana in Dormont, and there's a burgeoning Latin selection at Reyna Foods in the Strip District.

But supermarkets can be most convenient, Ms. Ridge said. She doesn't plan to contact other supermarkets but hope more will follow Giant Eagle's lead.

The private company, with $5.5 billion in sales, is the region's No. 1 supermarket retailer, with 140 corporate and 74 independent supermarkets. Hispanic Chamber chair Joe Manich commended it reaching out to the community, saying, "Pittsburgh needs this. We need the rest of the country to know that we are open for business and that we are much more cosmopolitan that our reputation would lead you to believe."

"The best thing about this whole thing," Ms. Ridge said, "is my mother, when she comes up from Miami, she doesn't have to bring a whole suitcase full of stuff.

"Now she can just come with her clothes."