LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Plans for a grocery store in Louisville's Smoketown neighborhood will move forward after a $3.5 million boost from Metro Government was approved.
Metro Council's Budget Committee approved the resolution during a meeting on Thursday, giving $3.5 million to help fund the Louisville Community Grocery.
The store will be located on a vacant lot at Finzer and South Jackson streets. Officials believe Smoketown is the right location for the grocery because it's a food desert, meaning most residents live more than a mile from the nearest supermarket.
According to Councilman Jecorey Arthur, D-4, more than 50% of households in the area also don't have access to a car.
"The fact that this grocery store is on vacant land is important, because, in the Vision Smoketown Report, Smoketown residents identified vacant lots as the top problem in the neighborhood," Arthur said. "That same report also showed that a grocery store was the top business resource that residents needed."
The store will use a co-op model, allowing people to buy "membership shares" and become part-owners of the store and share in its profits.
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