Green Grocer project is back to bring fresh food to Detroit’s neighborhoods

For too many Detroiters, the local grocery store or convenience store doesn’t offer fresh, healthy food. According to city officials, 65% of residents experience difficulties consistently accessing nutritional and affordable groceries.  

That’s why the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation is bringing back a grant to assist at least eight small city grocery stores to offer customers fresh foods. 

The improved program will provide up to $25,000 for technical assistance in market research, store design, supplier relationships and digital literacy training. It will assist established stores while also developing new ones. 

Kevin Johnson, president and CEO of the DEGC, says the goal of the program is to bring healthy and fresh foods to Detroit’s neighborhoods.

“We want to make sure that the market understands the value of having grocery stores embedded in neighborhoods,” Johnson said. “We’re conditioned, because we are in Detroit, to go out to the edges of our communities to find what we think we need. I don’t think we would do that if those options were down the street versus miles away.”

Part of the program is connecting produce suppliers with established stores, Johnson says, and making sure they’re affordable. They also want to make the case that small grocery store businesses can thrive when located in neighborhoods.

“So if we can make sure that we show that there is a business case to be made for a developer to come in and make that choice, we think that gives us more of a meaningful consideration on staying in market to get our services met by said grocer,” Johnson said.

For more information on how to apply, visit degc.org/greengrocerproject.

Use the media player above to hear the full interview from “The Metro” with Kevin Johnson, president and CEO of the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation.