Gem City Market gets $150K mayors’ grant

Market will work to improve customers’ access to healthy food.

Gem City Market, a full service, cooperatively owned grocery store set to open in 2019, is the recipient of a $150,000 grant.

The market aims to improve local access to healthy food. According to the Gem City Market website, Dayton ranks as the second-worst city in the nation for food hardship in households with children.

The market will open in the 300 and 400 block of Salem Avenue in 2019, according to the website. It will sell both conventional food products and organic and specialty foods. Workers and residents who purchase shares will own the market, and some shares will be sold at discounted rates to low-income residents.

Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley accepted the grant Monday in Boston at the annual U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting, according to a City of Dayton news release.

Whaley said in a prepared statement that the market will be “an important asset for northwest Dayton, ensuring that residents have access to healthy food and other critical service.”

“Their innovative model of community ownership will make sure that Dayton residents benefit from the market’s success,” Whaley’s statement reads.

The organization behind the market, Greater Dayton Union Cooperative Initiative, aims to raise $4.2 million through fundraising and purchases of membership shares. The organization has already raised nearly half that.

Lela Klein, GDUCI executive director and Gem City Market board member, said in a prepared statement receiving the grant is exciting news and brings “national recognition.”

“We hope that once we are successful, our work in Dayton can be a model for other cities struggling with food deserts,” Klein said.

A food desert is an area with low access to nutritious foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains and other healthy foods, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Poor food access can make it difficult for people to maintain healthy diets and can impact their health. Low-income communities are especially at risk because residents may not have good transportation to access supermarkets that are farther away.

Concerns about Dayton’s status as a food desert increased in April after Aldi in the Westown Shopping Center closed. The closure drew criticism from community members who believed losing the store would worsen food access in West Dayton.