Food Deserts are expanding in Springfield

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.- Those living in the northeastern part of the Midtown neighborhood will now need to find a new place to buy their groceries.

Signs on the door of the former grocery store in the Northview Center say that this store is permanently closed and invite people to visit the newly remodeled store on Kearney Street.

Since the area no longer has a grocery store, it is now considered a food desert, meaning residents must travel over a mile to access healthy and affordable foods. Community leaders said that the closing of this store will make it harder for those in midtown trying to feed their families.

“Losing this grocery store in midtown is huge for us. It’s a huge loss because people depend on it,” Brian Shipman said.

A grocery store in northern Springfield shut its doors earlier this week, leaving those in the area to travel further for groceries. Shipman is the Midtown Neighborhood Association Vice President. He said Save a Lot will be greatly missed.

“Went there almost daily. And I always saw people walking there and walking home. So, they have no transportation now. They don’t have a grocery store either,” Shipman said.

Anna Withers is the farmer and resource development manager with Springfield Community Gardens. She said without this store, people will have to rely on another store or the help of their community.

“If someone is in need of more food to bring home to their families, if they can make it over to the Library Station on Kansas Expressway, we have a community fridge over there that we worked really hard to help keep stocked,” Withers said.

Withers also said that while there is plenty of food in the area for people who need it, it is more about accessibility.

“The food supply is not necessarily the issue that we have with food insecurity. It’s an issue of transportation and getting it to the people who need it and making sure that it’s not all going bad at the grocery store or ending up in our trash,” Withers said.

Ozarks First reached out to Pyramid Foods about why the store closed but has not heard back.

The closest grocery store to that former Save a Lot location is a Price Cutter at Commercial and Grant, nearly a mile and a half away.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOLR - OzarksFirst.com.