Michigan to spend $1.25 million on Flint food co-op
(The Center Square) – Flint’s north side is the recipient of a $1.25 million grant from the Michigan Strategic Fund, which will be used to fund a new cooperative grocery store.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation on Tuesday announced plans for the opening of the co-op in a long-vacant building near the intersection of Pierson and Clio roads. The governor touts the North Flint Food Market Co-Op project as a remedy for what has been declared a “food desert” in North Flint.
“The new full-service grocery store in North Flint will help residents with the access to healthy, fresh food they deserve, and offer a community space that will create jobs,” Whitmer said in a statement.
“This community partnership and investment are delivering on this longstanding need in the community and helping to build the path for economic growth and recovery in Flint,” she continued. “The store will feed families, create jobs, and help us continue our economic jumpstart.”
Although no timeline has been announced for when the co-op will be completed and open to the public, the MEDC and governor in a news release stated the full-service grocery store will provide “walkable access to fresh foods and produce.”
University of Michigan-Flint Economics Associate Professor and Chair Christopher Douglas isn’t convinced tax dollars are necessary for a grocery store in its specific location.
“It is hard to see why the North Flint Food Market is being subsidized by taxpayer dollars,” Douglas told The Center Square. “If there was a market demand for this business, the subsidies wouldn’t be needed. Taxpayer subsidies have a poor track record for creating jobs and investment,” he said.
Douglas noted there are already four grocery stores in the vicinity of the North Flint Food Market, and a nearby Meijer on Pierson Road closed in 2015, citing as reasons low sales revenue and an aging structure.
The co-op project is spearheaded by the nonprofit North Flint Reinvestment Corporation, which is led by Reginald Flynn. The NFRC began work on the project in 2016.
The joint news release also claims the project will create 27 permanent, full-time positions, as well as spark $7 million in capital investment, with $1.25 million from the Michigan Strategic Fund’s Michigan Community Revitalization Program and $200,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds provided by the city of Flint. Another $500,000 grant derives from the Flint Kids Fund administered by the Community Foundation of Greater Flint.
According to the MEDC and governor, 836 member owners have already pledged their financial support for the co-op. Additional support has been pledged from the Ruth Mott Foundation, Community Foundation of Greater Flint, CS Mott Foundation, and Healthy Food Financing Initiative.
“Having access to fresh, affordable food is vital for the well-being of all Michiganders, especially for those living in ‘food deserts’ who have the additional barriers of excessive costs and lack of transportation to get to grocery stores outside of their neighborhoods,” MEDC Senior Vice President of Community Development Michele Wildman said in a statement.
“We’re pleased to work with the many partners who have brought this much-needed market to the North Flint community, and we look forward to seeing additional economic activity and investment in the area in the coming months and years,” Wildman said.
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