How does your neighborhood grocery store measure up?
I recently talked with a neighbor that said when he moved to the Detroit a few years ago someone told him that there was only one grocery store in the city and it was located in “Midtown.” This is the impression many people have about Detroit, but Detroit is home to nearly 70 stores, most of which are independently owned. Our independent grocery stores differ greatly in their selection of quality healthy food, support of community activities, and environment of safety and respect inside the store. We have many stores that are Great Grocers, but many independent stores face barriers to making the improvements needed to increase community food security for the neighborhoods they serve. no matter what their current condition is, independent stores have the potential to adjust their products and services to meet the needs of the neighborhoods surrounding their store, and to respond to direct customer feedback to implement changes.
Last month DFPC and our partners in the Detroit Grocery Coalition launched the Detroit Great Grocer Project. We formed the Detroit Grocery Coalition with organizations and agencies in the city that work to increase the availability of safe, affordable, healthy food in our grocery retail sector. The goals of the Great Grocer Project are to give Detroit residents information about how each store performs based on our evaluation tools; support communities to build relationships with their local independent grocery stores; and assist independent grocery stores that want to improve their capacity to offer a healthy food environment.
The Detroit Great Grocery Project provides a rating of grocery stores on our Great Grocer rating system; a Community Engagement Fellowship with organizations that partner with local stores to improve store relationships with neighbors; and the Healthy Food Promotion Program that will increase the capacity of stores to stock and sell healthy food.
Find out how your local grocery store measures up – see the top 25 stores in the city and their ratings on our Detroit Grocery Coalition page.
Blog Home
