SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity is opening grants to improve access to fresh food in certain areas, and some Springfield residents hope the funding can bring a grocery store to the city’s downtown.
The grant operates under the Illinois Grocery Initiative through the New Stores in Food Deserts program. It supports new grocery stores in food deserts.
Jay Shanle is the executive director of Downtown Springfield Inc. (DSI). When DSI shared information on the grant and pitched the idea to open a grocery store downtown through its Facebook page, more than 250 people liked the post, and dozens commented in support.
“A lot of people, when we think of grocery stores, we think about what we typically interact with, which are the big box stores,” Shanle said. “This doesn’t have to be a big box store … it’s okay to start small and scale to the demand of the community and grow later.”
The grant applies to those opening stores in areas with low food access. This is defined in the grant as “an urban tract, and at least 33% of the population of the tract or at least 500 residents in the tract reside more than one-half mile from the nearest grocery store.”
“You can see that with our farmer’s market, our community garden, that people do look for fresh produce for their diet,” Shanle said. “I think there’s truly a business opportunity to be had here.”
The Old Capitol Farmers Market and Salt Fork Food Hub offer groceries, but both are open one or two days a week.
Shanle said several downtown storefronts are available, ranging from small to medium in size.
The grant program totals $20.8 million. Individual awards range from $500,000 to $5 million.
Grant applications close in early December. For more details, visit the DCEO website.
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