New Market Provides An Oasis In A Maryland Food Desert

1 week ago

For nan past 2 decades, residents of Indian Head, Maryland, had to recreation almost 10 miles to prime up their basal groceries, but that changed successful nan autumn erstwhile a mates opened a caller nutrient marketplace to meet that request successful a nutrient desert.

Mark and Marilyn Steele hadn’t planned to ain a nutrient market, but they knew nan request was severe.

“A market shop is simply a cornerstone of a community, and if you want to spot a patient community, you’ve sewage to person a bully store,” Marilyn Steele said.

Indian Head was without a market shop for almost 25 years.

“I’m like, ‘Oh, my God! That shouldn’t be,’” Marilyn Steel said.

For much than a decade, nan municipality was a federally deemed nutrient desert.

“A batch of folks, they don’t person entree to transportation, that conscionable intends aged populations aliases different income levels, that benignant of each provender into that equation,” Indian Head Mayor Brandon Paulin said.

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He said activity to bring a market shop to nan area started good earlier he became mayor.

“In 1999, nan Super Fresh near nan municipality of Indian Head, and they’re person been galore folks, municipality councils complete nan years that person tried to reside nan issue,” Paulin said.

Then nan Steeles sewage involved. They already owned a java shop, but nan caller business task could service arsenic an oasis, which is why nan shop was named Oasis Fresh Foods Market.

The Steeles dream to execute 1 extremity for their customers.

“I wanted to springiness everyone a fighting chance astatine feeding their family well, and that’s what this shop represents,” Marilyn Steele said. “You tin spell from your caller nutrient to meats. You tin spell from canned vegetables to breads. You tin spell from grab-and-go to prepared foods. It has everything you request to prolong a family well.”