3:12 am UTC Apr. 16, 2021
Sharon Mercer spent part of a winter Sunday shopping for produce for her extended family.
This meant buying groceries for her niece and her small children, along with her niece s parents, who don t drive.
Mercer bought produce at Market 309, which opened in January providing healthy food for South Peoria residents. It s one of several options established by not-for-profits since the nearest grocery store to South Peoria closed a move three years ago that created a food desert and left those without regular transportation particularly in a bind. Sometimes we see things start up and then they fizzle. I don t think this is going to fizzle, Mercer said of the market at Logan Recreational Center.
For South Peoria residents like Dorotha Williams and Bobette Shrode, the opening of Market 309 fills a need they ve had for three years.
That s when two Kroger supermarkets in Peoria closed, and south side and East Bluff residents lost their neighborhood grocery stores and access to nearby, economically priced fresh produce.
Market 309 provides that access again. Residents of the 61605 ZIP code can visit the effort by Peoria Grown, a not-for-profit that has set up shop from noon to 3 p.m. each Sunday at Logan Recreation Center, 1414 S. Livingston St.
There, for $5, visitors can fill a paper sack with as much fresh produce as they wish to carry. Selection in the first week included apples, oranges, bananas, bell peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers and cilantro greens, provided to Peoria Grown at cost by Hy-Vee at Sheridan Village.