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Nonprofit group With God’s Grace plans to establish grocery in area food desert

NORTHRIDGE — Local nonprofit With God’s Grace is working to create a grocery with food shopping choices and education resources, in Northridge, a community northwest of Dayton and south of I-70 that right now is considered a food desert.

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The organization recently bought the old cash loans building, 5505 N. Dixie Drive and Nicole Adkins, the nonprofit’s executive director, told News Center 7 she has big plans for the space.

“This is about helping our families to become self-sufficient, to be able to go through and shop with dignity, but also be able to learn values they didn’t know,” Adkins said.

The building will be turned into a free grocery and step-up program that will offer food and educational tools.

“To be able to teach them how to plan their meals, how to budget, how to be able to read label, and a lot of them don’t know how to cook, so we teach them how to cook,” Adkins said.

The year-long program will also help with childcare and job training. While anybody can take part, Adkins said they must have a referral or be able to prove they need help. The nonprofit’s goal is to eventually support more than 1,000 families a month.

“In Northridge, we got a food desert and we have people who were hit by the tornado that came through, and a lot of people, a year later, are still struggling and trying to make ends meet,” Adkins said.

But the building on North Dixie Drive is still in need of repairs, including a new roof.

“We need shelving on a couple spots and then we are going to need a walk-in cooler and freezer,” Adkins said. “We are also going to need upright refrigeration.”

Adkins said With God’s Grace solely relies on grants and donations from the community. The organization hopes to open in November.

“We need to help one another and we need to make sure that families who are in need and coming through the food pantry, who want the resources, can get the resources and be able to make a difference in their lives,” Adkins said.

Adkins said the nonprofit will be holding a donation drive-thru for household, personal care and baby items at their new location from noon until 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26. They also plan to offer a food drive once they get close to an opening date.

Katy Andersen

Katy Andersen

I joined WHIO's team in September 2019. You can catch me on News Center 7 when I anchor Saturdays at 6 a.m., 8 a.m. and Noon, Sundays at 6 and 11 p.m., and while I am reporting during the week.

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