Cornerstone Baptist Church is launching a grocery store to address food insecurity in South Dallas
Church officials found an unlikely inspiration for an urban market: Royal Blue Grocery.
Cornerstone Church Pastor Chris Simmons (right) is opening a small non-profit grocery mart in a South Dallas neighborhood. Donald Wesson Jr. (left), Cornerstone’s program director, says he knows that’s going to be difficult in this neighborhood. That’s why he looked for a different model for the market.(Nitashia Johnson / (Special Contributor/Nitashia Jo)
By Sujata Dand
“I’m just trying to help out,” Sheffield says.
Struggs, 66, feels lucky to have everything he needs within blocks of his home. “It’s a blessing,” he says. “I can have clean clothes and get hot food,” all in one special place.
It was a hallelujah moment when we figured out that these thoughts and ideas that we ve been talking about for seven, 10, 12 years are now coming about, said Donald Wesson with Cornerstone Community Development Corporation. It s sorely needed. It s a forgotten neighborhood in South Dallas that s lacking the infrastructure of building a community. We don t have the coffee shops or the parks, but have a lot of liquor stores.
Wesson was among those at the lot on a sunny Monday morning helping to transform it into a vibrant space where vendors will sell food and families will gather. It s kinda the kick-off of the visible transformation that is starting to happen in the Forest district. And for many of the residents here, it s the first time they re going to see some of those tangible changes coming to life, said Kristen Leiber, The Better Block s senior project manager.