Community Leaders Actively Seek a Grocery Store for Mason Square

Share On Social!

Springfield, MA is over 40% Latino, and many of these families live in areas without access to fresh, healthful, and affordable foods. The Mason Square neighborhood in Springfield is one of those areas.

Since 2005 The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, the Mason Square Food Justice Initiative, and the Mason Square Health Task Force have been working with other community organizations to bring in a full-service grocery store into the neighborhood, one that would carry a large selection of fruits and vegetables, as well as fresh-baked goods, meats, fish and a deli. It’s part of the city’s master plan that includes the State Street Corridor Improvement Program and the 2012 Rebuild Springfield Plan, according to Jay Minkarah, President and CEO of DevelopSpringfield. He says a grocery store in Mason Square would serve a large section of the city.

Community advocates say they are working with the community to get feed back on the type of grocery store they would like and what kind of foods they would want in the grocery store.

According to reports, project planners are actively seeking financing and a supermarket vendor.

Read more about the active search for a neighborhood grocery store.