TULSA, Okla — A vending grocery store is getting closer to opening in north Tulsa.
2 News started following this project and development since the groundbreaking in April.
Crista Patrick, a lifelong member of the Dawson neighborhood and former city councilor, said when the last grocery store, off Pine and Sheridan, shut down the community began to fall economically.
“Food is such a connector for people. Everybody’s got to eat right? So, you run into your neighbor at the grocery, at the market and so that connectivity started to deteriorate rapidly once our food access became minimal,” Patrick said.
According to INTEGRIS Health, 54 out of the 77 counties in Oklahoma are in food deserts. Tulsa Metropolitan Ministries also saw the food desert in north Tulsa and wanted to make a change.
2 News talked to them when this project was announced.
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'BAZAR' vending machine grocery store coming to north Tulsa
Both the non-profit and the city came together and designed the project called ‘BAZAR’ a vending machine grocery store.
Members of the Dawson community get a free membership to use the store. Anyone who lives in Tulsa can get a membership for $25 a year.
Tulsa Metropolitan Ministries representatives told 2 News you scan your card and then begin shopping for affordable local farm-to-store produce.
“When Metropolitan Ministries came to me with this idea, I jumped at the chance because I have seen what it does when people don’t have good reliable food sources,’” Patrick said.
Another factor with this store is giving kids in the area free meals after school every day.
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“The after-school program that we’re having now is a few trucks that we would like to partner with that could feed the kids after school during their trip home so they can get a free meal every single day throughout the year with the partnerships we have with the food trucks,” Yousef BinAgeil, founder and program director of BAZAR, said.
Patrick said this could be a game changer for families and kids in the area.
“So many of the children here in school in the Dawson are, I mean the reality is many don’t eat unless they are at school,” Patrick said.
Tulsa Metropolitan Ministries told 2 News they finally received all their permits to begin construction soon. They hope to finish the construction in the next four to five months.
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