NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WVEC) -- A prominent food desert in Newport News is once again eliminated, with the grand opening of a Piggly Wiggly grocery store on Wednesday.
The supermarket chain store replaces the former Jim's Local Market in the Southeast Community. Jim's closed at the end of January, less than two years after first opening its doors on Jefferson Avenue, near 30th Street.
The location is meant to end a food desert, which is an area of the city with limited access to fresh food.
There are entire swaths of neighborhoods across the country where residents don't have access to fresh food. Many times, there is a higher rate of obesity, heart disease and diabetes in these food desert areas.
The grocery store is a part of an overall plan to revitalize the neighborhood. City Manager Cynthia Rohlf said Newport News is in the running for a $30 million Choice Neighborhood Initiative Grant.
A major portion of the funds would go toward replacing housing in the Marshall-Ridely neighborhood.
"New mixed-use type housing, different income levels. But all of the citizens that are currently living in that housing would have the opportunity to come back into the community. That's a very important part of the grant," said Rohlf.