PETERSBURG, Va. – Leaders in the city of Petersburg and the Virginia governor welcomed a new state-of-the-art mobile grocery store in a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday. The portable store is expected to serve the needs of the community.
Virginia State Sen. Lashrecse Aird, who represents the Petersburg district, emphasized that many in the Petersburg community need better access to nutritious food since the area is considered a food desert.
“The reality is that so many in our community face that challenge of either not having food or access to healthy food or continued ongoing access to food,” Aird said.
The Goodr mobile grocery store is 26 feet long. The truck will provide access to essential grocery items such as fresh produce, milk, eggs and shelf-stable goods.
Finding affordable groceries has been a challenge, according to Rondy Little, a Petersburg resident for 16 years. He was on hand for Tuesday’s ribbon cutting.
“With inflation, the prices have risen so bad, where people can’t afford to get the things they want or get good nourishment for the kids and things like that,” Little said.
This Goodr mobile grocery unit is part of Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s “Partnership for Petersburg” initiative, a state collaboration with the city to find solutions to crime, access to healthcare and food security.
Partnerships with Amazon, Anthem, Bon Secours and Comcast helped bring Goodr’s services to Virginia, according to Gov. Youngkin. He says private partnerships help communities thrive, while taking the burden off taxpayers.
“When you recognize the biggest challenge in food insecurity is not just in Petersburg, but across the commonwealth, where 1-in-5 Virginians suffer from food insecurity, and it’s gotten worse over time, not better,” said Gov. Youngkin.
In 2020, Goodr launched its nonprofit, the Goodr Foundation, with its key project being “Neighborhood Eats,” a community program dedicated to filling the food insecurity gap that children face on the weekends and holidays.
Since its founding, the Goodr company has served almost 50 million meals and diverted over 28 million pounds of food and organic waste from landfills across the country.
Goodr says it plans to share food with other non-profits in Petersburg that help the underserved. The Justin J. Davis Heart Foundation, an organization aimed at providing healthy meals to residents, will benefit from the partnership.
“It’s a collaborative effort and it’s going to take a collaborative effort in order to maintain and sustain any consistency for those in need,” said foundation president Karen Brown-Davis.
Residents like Rondy Little say they’re hoping the mobile unit, along with plans for a new state-of-the-art grocery store in Petersburg, will have a positive impact on the community.
“Like I said, it’s a blessing from God and we need it here in Petersburg,” Little said.
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