A new locally-owned grocery store is coming to the northeast side of Indianapolis, one of the city’s many food deserts, reports the Indy Star. The 14,000-square-foot Indy Fresh Market will serve a low-income census tract where about 6,000 residents live more than one mile away from the nearest traditional grocery store, according to the SAVI program at the Indiana University-Purdue University of Indianapolis.
Medical device company Cook Medical has partnered with a coalition of community partners to develop the area. Cook Medical will build the store, while Impact Central Indiana, a limited liability company created by the Central Indiana Community Foundation, will provide the startup funds.
The local market will be owned by Michael McFarland and Marckus Williams, two friends who operate the nearby Wall Street Grocery, which will close when Indy Fresh Market opens.
"We have a personal vested interest in a grocery store," McFarland said. "Other companies, you know, they're about the bottom dollar, so they don't have any personal attachments. I think that our personal attachment, our personal determination, our love for the neighborhood will help us keep it open and help provide our community with healthy food."
McFarland and Williams will operate under a lease-to-own agreement, which is estimated at $2 million. McFarland hopes to decrease that amount through donations, while repaying the remainder through low-interest loans as the store begins to sell its stock. Full Story
Related: NGA: Independent Grocers Contribute to U.S. Economy; Wright's Market Helps Fight Food Insecurity.