Chattanooga’s first healthy corner store is set to to open Thursday. Southside Market Corner Store will be at 202 W. 38th St. in Alton Park. There will be a ribbon cutting at 3 p.m.
Representatives from the YMCA of Metropolitan Chattanooga, Step ONE, Chattanooga Mobile Market and Southside Market invite members of the community to celebrate the opening. The group hopes to launch four healthy corner store sites within the next year, with the goal of enhancing access to healthy foods in underserved communities.
There are many neighborhoods throughout Chattanooga that lack convenient access to grocery stores and supermarkets. Because of this, many families are forced to depend on corner stores and other small-scale stores to purchase their food. Unfortunately, the product selection at these stores is often limited to pre-packaged food with very little, if any, fresh fruits, vegetables and other healthy options. As a result, groups across the city are partnering with communities and corner store owners to increase the availability of healthy foods in corner stores, said officials.