Gem City Market pushes for 2021 opening; will address city’s food desert

DAYTON — A community effort to change health, and end a food desert in a portion of the city crippled by the lack of full-service grocery stores, is becoming a reality as the Gem City Market continues with construction.

Walls are being built at the new 8,000 square-foot home of the market on Salem Avenue near Grand Avenue.

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This project is a community effort and organizers are close to their goal of 3,000 memberships to the cooperative store.

Construction work was continuing Wednesday with heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment is being unloaded and installed.

“It’s really exciting, I tell them we’re changing the landscape of Dayton,” said Kenya Baker, Community Outreach Director for the Gem City Market. “This has been a disenfranchised and divested from area so to bring food access and to be able to not only change the way people eat, it’s also changing people’s lifestyles, giving them hope for tomorrow in a time they feel hopeless.”

Baker said the target is to open the store in earlier 2021.

The project’s goal is bringing a grocery store that will offer fresh meat, produce and healthy food to part of the community that needs options.

Cox Media Group