America's First Non-Profit Supermarket Provides a Model for Alleviating Food Deserts

Last weekend a new supermarket opened in Chester, Pennsylvania. But this isn't just another Safeway, Chester's groundbreaking non-profit supermarket could provide a model for areas across the country struggling to attract full-service grocers.

1 minute read

October 3, 2013, 2:00 PM PDT

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj


Cassie Owens reports on Fare & Square, the nation’s first non-profit supermarket, which opened last weekend in Chester, "a USDA-designated food desert, [that] had gone without a supermarket in town for 12 years."

"The new market comes courtesy of Philabundance, the Philly metro area’s largest food bank. While other non-profit grocery stores have popped up in cities in like Portland and St. Joseph, Mo., Fare & Square distinguishes itself as a 16,000 square-foot, full-scale market. The store is not a co-op, and there are no salary requirements for purchase or membership."

"Food justice advocates are watching the Fare & Square model to see if it could become a solution to food deserts like Chester," notes Owens.

Wednesday, October 2, 2013 in Next City

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