When Pogue’s Run Grocer closed last year, it was a blow to the community that relied on them for fresh food in the midst of the food desert that is the near eastside. However, a new grocer is set to open in mid-December, Healthy Harvest Market, and will be fully stocked with necessities for people living nearby.
Operated by Jonathan Lawler, owner of Brandywine Creek Farms in Greenfield, the store will feature local produce in season, honey, and other fresh goods at affordable prices. They will also stock pantry necessities at competitive prices in order to offer neighbors a more convenient shopping option to the big-box grocery chains. “We’re not trying to be Kroger,” he explained, “but we will have prices like Kroger.”
He noted that the store will focus on stocking staple items such as bread, milk, eggs, meat, frozen items, and paper goods throughout the year. In the off-season, the store will feature produce from out of state, which he will select for freshness and quality. Pictures of local producers and their farms will be prominently displayed throughout the store, to help shoppers connect the source of their selections with real people and places.
Lawler and his wife Amanda started Brandywine Creek Farms in 2015 as a non-profit farm providing produce for the food insecure. Their large farm produces thousands of pounds of fresh food, and they have also partnered with local farmers. In addition to fresh food, the cafe will be reopened, to feature Liberty Pie Co. and Cafe. Patrons will have the choice of paying full price for their meals paying half price, or “paying it forward” to furnish a meal to someone else. Liberty Pie Company is an award-winning pie company
The store, which had a “soft opening” Nov. 30, is just one step Lawler and his partners see for helping to fill the void for affordable groceries in food deserts across the city. The market is located at 2828 E. 10th St.
