Archive | 8:06 pm

Highland Square is a Food Desert No More!

30 Mar

You know how I posted about food deserts a few days ago and wrote that my neighborhood lacks a local grocery store?  Well, Highland Square is a food desert no more!  (Well, soon anyway.)

Today, The Akron Beacon Journal announced that we’re going to be getting a Mustard Seed (fancy locally owned health and organic food type grocery store).  It seems that I wasn’t the only one concerned about the lack fresh food.  The City of Akron owns some of the retail space in the area and put out a request for bids from grocery stores a while back.

I guess this has been in the works for a while and I’ve been completely oblivious.

Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic made the announcement this afternoon. The city picked Mustard Seed, which already has stores in Montrose and Solon, from four grocers who submitted proposals.

Plusquellic made his decision after meeting with Highland Square business leaders, neighborhood residents and leaders of the Highland Square Neighborhood Association.

Also, apparently we have a neighborhood association…

The location of the new store is only about 1/4 mile from my house.  Yea for being able to walk to the store when I realize that I’ve forgotten some vital ingredient.  (This happens pretty much every time I cook.)

And, the best part, according to one of the commenters “the store will be designed to be affordable and teach people how to cook healthy”.  Does this mean free cooking classes?  Because if so, I am there!

Of course, not all the commenters were happy.  (Have you ever seen all the commenters be happy?  I think that’s statistically impossible.)  Generally, the complaints were that low-income people in the neighborhood (as I said previously, I live in a mixed-income community) don’t eat organic food or cook anyway (Way to stereotype!) or that the store would be too expensive for many residents to afford.

It’s true that Mustard Seed is expensive (there’s no way that I could afford to do all of my shopping there), but it’s going to be fantastic to be able to walk to a grocery store.  I can already walk to a library, a coffee shop (locally owned, thank you!), and a Chipotle.  This neighborhood is getting better and better!

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