Discount retailer brings fresh produce to food deserts in Baltimore

For 26 years, the grocery store Giant fed families in Edmondson Village and some surrounding communities.

In June, the location in Edmondson Shopping Center closed its doors for good with hardly any warning to the community.

Kim Campbell, who has been living in the area for years, says it isn’t the first time something like this has happened.

“We went through this a few years ago before giant came, and we had lost a grocery store in another shopping center," says Campbell.

She says since the Giant closed, people have had to travel further to get essential items.

“It's especially hard for the elderly, who don’t have vehicles, to be able to travel that far and have to relocate for their medicines," says Kim Campbell.

Now, there is a little hope, at least for fresh produce.

The Dollar General on Frederick Avenue is one of six locations in Baltimore now selling fresh produce.

The company announced the stores feature the top 20 items typically sold in traditional grocery stores, including tomatoes, onions, apples, strawberries, potatoes, sweet potatoes, lemons, limes, salad mixes, and more.

Although it isn’t every single fruit and vegetable, Campbell says it's better than nothing.

“I think it's good to have that option because, like you said, a lot of people don’t have that option, so yeah, it's a good thing; it will really help them out, especially in this area," she says.

Five other Dollar General stores in the Baltimore area have produce.

Two are in north Baltimore (York Road near Northern Parkway and on Greenmount near 33rd Street), and there are two more in the southwest (Hollinswood Park shopping center on Patapsco Avenue and on East Drive in Arbutus). The newest one is in Randallstown.

The remodeled store is in the Marriottsville Center shopping center, on Liberty Road near Marriottsville Road.