Many residents in Northwest Jacksonville commute several miles just to buy groceries, but that could be changing soon, according to Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry.
He hopes to get a $750,000 grant approved to turn a vacant Harvey’s into a Rowe’s supermarket.
“It would mean everything for us to have a major grocery store," Terry Canty Nesmith, a local resident, told First Coast News.
What looks like a nutritional wasteland, Northwest Jacksonville doesn’t have major grocery stores in the neighborhood.
“The largest city in the United States and we are living in a food desert in the [northwest] side of town," resident Canty Nesmith said, "and it’s a weird thing because we travel day-to-day to other areas outside of this community to work, and that’s where you gotta shop.”
Nikki Kimbleton, a spokesperson from the mayor’s office, told First Coast News, “Mayor Curry has been working for several years to ensure all citizens and neighborhoods have access to healthier foods, like fresh fruits and vegetables. This grant is the next step in finding a solution to the food desert in Northwest Jacksonville and we look forward to the full support of the City Council at [Tuesday night's] meeting.”
Food deserts not only make it hard for residents to buy groceries but they also make it harder to get healthy and high-quality food options.
“The quality of food on this side of town, not only the amount or availability of fruit, vegetables, fresh meat -- it’s not here in this quadrant,” Nesmith said.
The closest major supermarkets or pharmacies are in Riverside, Downtown or the Northside. Nesmith drives 20 minutes to her closest major grocery store.
“It’s very difficult to live in my own community if I don’t have healthy choices to consume,” she said.
The lack of grocery stores in the area can turn basic grocery shopping into a two-hour trip depending on how far residents have to go and the type of transportation they rely on.
The City Council meeting to approve the grant is happening Tuesday night. If it’s approved it would mean Northwest Jacksonville residents can have what many take for granted – easy one-stop shopping for all their basic needs.