ATLANTA — Organizers of a tiny neighborhood grocery store in northwest Atlanta say times are so hard in their community that they no longer ask their customers to pay.
Along Charlotte Place in Northwest Atlanta’s Grove Park community, hundreds of folks waited in line Wednesday. Shanequa Fitzpatrick was in line.
“With me, a single mother of four, it was a blessing. Just being able to be a part of the line,” Fitzpatrick said.
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She’s in line to visit a small neighborhood market called The Grocery Spot.
It opened two years ago and it’s the only grocery store within a few miles.
It began as a traditional for-profit store. “The community itself spoke. They just can’t afford it,” the store’s Volunteer Director Darius Tigner said.
Tigner says times have been so hard in this underserved community that the store now gives groceries away, free of charge.
“We saw the need and changed. We moved forward into making it a nonprofit and give groceries back to the community for free. They deserve it,” Tigner said.
They have teamed up with metro area food banks and are able to buy merchandise at a steeply discounted rate.
On this day, three big truck loads for just $700.
Every bit of it will be given away.
Customers get to go into the store themselves and select what they need.
Fitzpatrick says that need has never been so great.
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“The Grocery Spot is extremely important, especially with the prices of groceries right now. It’s very needed for the community,” she said.
The Grocery Spot used to be open five days a week but organizers say they had to cut it to three days due to higher expenses.
But they say the need in the community is also higher, and three of their large refrigerators recently broke down.
They hope a few corporate sponsors can step up so they can keep serving the community.
To learn more about The Grocery Spot or to donate, visit: https://thegroceryspot.org.
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