KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Sitting at 3501 Troost, Community Groceries — a new grocery store — is working to feed the community in more ways than one.
“There's four thousand people that live within a half mile, and there's nine thousand people that live within one mile, and so you have nine thousand people trying to get something and get access to something, well how do you do it,” said Kourtney Lee, Founder & Owner of Community Groceries.
The store opens its doors Saturday, and Lee says he is working to give people access to healthy food at an affordable price.
“When you make your recipes, those items are always usually in bulk, and so we took vegetables, fruits and pantry items — which accounts for a lot of the waste in the industry — and so we say we are going to use those, and we are going to break them down,” said Lee.
Alexandria French, VP of Sales and Marketing, says their mission is to make eating affordable.
“You can purchase just what you need, so it’s not only affordable and accessible it’s also going to reduce food waste and benefit the community in that aspect,” French said.
Terrell Vanross lives in the area and says Community Groceries can change the habits of people that live in his neighborhood.
“Eating habits, life habits, health habits,” Vanross said.
Community Groceries is also working to fight childhood obesity. In addition to the produce being affordable and accessible, French says they've found a way to keep produce local.
“By bringing in local vendors and partners so that we can also support the local economy and really give a boost to that business market, as well as support other business leaders in the community,” French said.
Community Groceries hopes to be a place for Kansas Citians to shop for more than what they bargained for.
“Sitting here on this corridor doesn't really mean anything, all it’s just saying is we are giving you opportunity and we are giving you access,” Lee said.
