This tribe’s capital had no grocery store. It soon will

A development that will include a grocery store, laundromat and gas station aims to bring new access to food and necessities to Sacaton, the capital of the Gila River Indian Community.

“I can’t emphasize enough what a game-changer the market will be for community members,” Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis said in a statement. “Sacaton and the surrounding area has been a food desert for far too long. The market will deliver fresh produce and more nutritional options to local residents. At the same time, it will create jobs and help boost the Community’s economy. The market is a dream come true for our people.”

Construction officially began on the Sacaton Market, located at South Ocotillo Drive and Bluebird Road, in late December.

Officials from the Wild Horse Pass Development Authority, the developer of the project, said the store should be complete by the end of the year or early 2025.

“This will bring more jobs to our community,” said Suzanne King, director of operations for the Wild Horse Pass Development Authority.

The area has no full-size grocery store, King said. Residents either go to smaller convenience stores to shop or must drive outside the community to go to a bigger store for their grocery needs. The area is considered a “food desert,” meaning it is difficult to access affordable healthy food.

“Our convenience stores are utilized like grocery stores, so this is very much needed,” King said of the new market.

Sacaton is in Pinal County, about 30 miles southeast of downtown Phoenix.

Depending on where residents live on the reservation, some travel to Coolidge, Casa Grande, Maricopa or Laveen to go to the store, King said.

The nearest full-sized grocery store to the new market is in Casa Grande, about 11 miles away.

For some members of the community, especially the elderly, driving long distances to get groceries can be difficult, King said.

Many members of the community do not have vehicles and walk to the existing convenience stores to shop. The market will be within walking distance of a residential area, so people can walk to get their groceries.

“It is really in the heart of Sacaton,”

King said. “It’s the largest district in our community, and it’s near the hospital and the schools.”

The market will be 24,000 square feet, about four times the size of any of the convenience stores in the community.

It will have a bakery, deli and seating space for customers to eat and socialize, with outdoor seating and a place for food vendors to come and sell their items. King said the nearby hospital is one of the few other places where people can eat lunch together in the area.

The development also will include a laundromat and gas station.

The project has been years in the making, King said, noting that tribal and community leaders had long discussed bringing a grocery store to the area.