by Bonita Gooch/The Voice
If you live near 21st and Grove in the heart of Northeast Wichita, walked to your refrigerator and you needed just one fresh ingredient in preparation for your evening meal, too bad. The nearest store selling fresh meat and vegetables was 3 miles away.
While 3 miles is an inconvenience for some, it’s nearly impossible for the 20% of households in ZIP Code 67214 without a vehicle. That’s why the recently remodeled Dollar General at 2020 E. 21st Street is being happily received.
Dollar General recently remodeled and upgraded the store to its DG Market format. These stores offer healthier food selections including fresh meats, fruits and vegetables, in addition to the same categories, brands and products offered at other Dollar General stores.
The new location includes several banks of commercial grade refrigeration units with fresh meat, vegetables and fruit. The meat selection included fresh pork, beef and chicken options, including an always useful one-pound roll of 80/20 ground beef. Produce selections included seasonal fruit including grapes, blueberries, apples and oranges. Vegetables included staples like carrot, potatoes and onions, plus bagged salad options. Another nice addition was fresh packaged options of cole slaw, potato salad and macaroni salad.
The redesign also expanded the store’s selection and quality of frozen food options. Dollar General stores always offered frozen food options, but the redesign added more freezer capacity and expanded the frozen product offerings.
The store is also equipped with a large cooler for fresh milk and dairy products. When we visited, there was only one gallon of milk left. We’re not sure if the cooler still hadn’t been stocked or whether the empty shelves reflected a high level of demand.
Dollar General has added fresh produce only – not fresh meat – to five stores in Wichita locations: 1918 E. 13th St, 4011 S. Laura, 4549 E. Pawnee, 2427 W. Pawnee. According to a response from Dollar General Public Relations Department, the company has fresh produce in 5,400 stores across the country, “giving us more individual points of produce distribution than any other U.S. mass retailer or grocer.”
Healthy Corner Store Initiative
In 2022, the City of Wichita allocated $1 million from federal pandemic funds to seed a program aimed at making fresh produce available in designated “food deserts,” and in February 2023, after working with a consultant, the city approved the Healthy Corner Store Initiative.
The plan, modeled after similar plans across the country, called for the city to work with existing local store owners to get the program up and running with a goal of adding produce to at least 12 “corner store” locations within Wichita area food deserts by the end of 2024.
The plan called for bypassing national chains typically found in lower-income areas like Dollar General and Family Dollar.
“We’ve learned that the managers of those stores have very little control over inventory,” consultant Eileen Horn with New Venture Advisors said. “It can be really difficult trying to work with corporate ownership, which tends to want consistent inventory in every store. The local retailers have a much smoother path to decision making.”
Two years after authorizing $1 million to seed a program to bring healthy food to designated food deserts the program is still not up and running. After contracting with a consulting firm to develop an implementation plan for the program, the city issued two requests for proposals – one in 2022 and the second in 2023 – and held multiple committee meetings and listening sessions. Earlier this year, they finally contracted with Wichita State University Community Engagement Office to function as the program administrator.
Since being engaged, WSU CEOhas held additional community listening sessions and as a result have developed a revised plan to submit to the city. According to an update forwarded to us from CEO, the organizations will not reach the city’s goal of having 12 Healthy Corner Stores partners by the end of the year. However, they are looking for and encouraging a potential partner to implement a pilot program with technical assistance and support provided to build the structure. They hope the pilot operator can become a mentor to other store operators.
According to CEO more conversation is needed with potential stakeholders who are hesitant to get involved. A potential 24 potential partners and stores were identified by the 48 stakeholders who attended a June 2024 listening session held by CEO.
This article was republished here with the permission of: The Community Voice