COLUMBUS, Ohio — At the 10TV Listens Townhall event in the Hilltop neighborhood, one of the issues brought up was the lack of fresh produce and grocery stores. 10TV took those concerns to the mayor and took a look at the problem.
Thousands of people call the Hilltop home but depending on where they live, they might be miles away from the closest grocery store. If someone lives near Burroughs Elementary School on Sullivant Avenue, their choices to buy fresh produce and food are limited to Kroger stores off Wilson Road or Harrisburg-Pike. Both stores are a drive or bus ride away.
“You can’t buy no groceries on Sullivant Avenue,” said Charles Harvison, a six-year resident of the Hilltop. “You have to have a car or ride the bus or walk.”
He relies on COTA buses to get around. For him to reach the Kroger off Harrisburg-Pike, he has to take the Number 6 bus to the central bus station, wait to transfer to the Number 3 bus and ride that to the closest stop. It takes a lot longer than it would by car.
“We don’t have groceries around here, so it’s pretty hard if you don’t have a car,” said Betty Tesfaye, another Hilltop resident.
While she has a car to get to and from the grocery store, she finds herself helping those around her who don’t have one.
“They will either need to get a ride or we will have to go pick up the food and bring it to them,” she said.
10TV took the concerns to Mayor Ginther Wednesday morning while he was announcing a partnership with the Mid-Ohio Food Collective for a new prosperity center in Eastland.
“One of the things that is really important is for us to partner with others to provide some of those resources and fill those gaps,” Ginther said. “As you heard Matt talk about earlier today, there is a smaller version of this prosperity center on Norton Road. That’s much farther west than the heart of the Hilltop. We’re going to continue to look at opportunities to partner with the Mid-Ohio Food Collective, Kroger and other partners to make sure we’re filling those gaps.”
The Mid-Ohio Food Collective currently operates two of its free food markets. One of them is on Norton Road and a smaller one on Sullivant Avenue. Mid-Ohio also delivers food for those who are ill, disabled, or otherwise can’t make it to one of their pantries, markets or foodbanks.
“There are some services there. We’re still deciding what’s going to happen in Franklinton. We’re really looking at if the facility is there,” said Matt Habash, Mid-Ohio Food Collective President and CEO. “We’re trying to place these strategically around the community so people stay. Right now MY Project USA is doing a great job in the Hilltop.”
10TV took the COTA buses from Burroughs Elementary to the Kroger near Wilson Road. It took two buses, crossing Broad Street twice and about 26 minutes from the time we stepped onto the first bus until we walked into the parking lot of the Kroger.
Ginther was also asked about if he was aware of any efforts to bring grocery stores or drug stores into the Hilltop.
“We’re working on it every day, talking to partners like the Mid-Ohio Food Collective, Giant Eagle, Kroger, other partners and we’re going to continue working on this issue with the people of the hilltop and other neighborhoods in our city,” Ginther said.
He didn’t provide a timeline of when anything could be moving in.