Creating an Oasis in a Rural Food Desert

Until October 2021, grocery shopping was a painful and arduous experience for Amanda Griffin, who suffers joint and bone pain from Lupus and had to travel 20 miles to the nearest supermarket, often relying on rides from neighbors. But now, she simply goes online, selects items she needs, and has them delivered the same day.

Griffin lives in Drew, Mississippi, population 1,927 and now the home of the Mississippi Delta Online Grocery Program. Working with HOPE, the Drew Collaborative, headed by Drew native Gloria Dickerson, has converted an abandoned local armory to a warehouse for groceries and other staples. Residents of Drew order their groceries online and can pick them up at the armory or have them delivered by refrigerated van, instead of driving 20 miles to the Wal-Mart in Cleveland, Mississippi, the closest full-service supermarket since Drew’s last grocery store closed in 2014.

“It truly helps me,” said Griffin. The new program helps her ensure she has all the ingredients she needs to cook and make healthy school lunches for her three girls. Griffin is also able to order food for her paralyzed sister who lives nearby, and her husband has begun using the service to supply his restaurant in town.

Dickerson retired as a program director at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in 2009 and returned to Drew. With a grant from her former employer, she began community programs focused on childrens’ needs and development. Eventually, the adults in the town, impressed by Dickerson’s initiatives, asked if she could find ways to help the entire community. Healthy food access was at the top of their list.

Without enough residents to make a grocery store sustainable, the town had been unable to attract an operator to open one. Shopping for food had cost residents gas or taxi money, eaten up their time, and left them without options to easily re-stock perishable items. The Drew Collaborative contacted HOPE, which has a branch in the town, for assistance in developing a method to bring convenient, healthy food options to the small town.

Together, the Drew Collaborative and HOPE formulated the concept for a local “click and collect” grocery shopping model and applied for grants to fund the project, with HOPE acting as the financial conduit. The HOPE Catalyst Fund provided financing to repair the Drew armory building and get it in shape to house cold storage, shelving, and a classroom space.

“Without HOPE, we wouldn’t have been able to get the grants to do this,” Dickerson said. “They really took an interest in the people here having access to food.”

The grocery program opened in October 2021 and currently serves about 30 customers every month. Customers have access to the wide range of groceries and other staples found at Wal-Mart, which supplies the inventory, but can now get them locally, with the option to pay with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.

There have been discussions with Mississippi State University to develop programming in Drew. Possibilities include cooking classes, health screenings, nutrition education, meal planning and budgeting, and to create a community gathering space at the armory building. There has been talk of establishing a community garden on the grounds. Dickerson envisions putting fliers in customers’ bags about healthy eating and future programs.

“It’s really an exciting thing to be happening in a small rural community,” Dickerson said.