Residents raise $30,000 to bring first grocery store to Alabama neighbourhood in 70 years

Residents of Fountain Heights in Birmingham, Alabama, have a grocery store in their neighbourhood for the first time in nearly 70 years. The We All Eat Market opened on November 7 after years of work by a local farming cooperative and community members.According to WVTM 13, for generations, residents had to travel outside the neighbourhood to buy groceries, including fresh food.

The new market aims to make everyday shopping easier by bringing locally sourced produce and other essential items closer to their homes.The project was developed by Fountain Heights Farms Cooperative, which began in 2016 with the aim of building a sustainable local food system. What started with neighbourhood gardens gradually expanded into a network of urban farms.

The cooperative later decided to use its farming activities to address the lack of a grocery store in the area.The market is part of the cooperative's new Heart of the Farm facility at 1201 16th Street North. It brings together a grocery store and a community kitchen.