TULSA, Okla. — A new automated grocery store is coming to north Tulsa.
Lisa Gartland lives in the Dawson neighborhood in north Tulsa.
"It's not fair to the people who live out north because it is hard. Sometimes people don't have vehicles, some do but they're so far in-between," said Gartland.
She struggles to find healthy food close to home.
"Only two, the one on Admiral, which is the Walmart on Admiral and Memorial, and then there's a warehouse on Sheridan. But other than that, there's really not anything up north," she said.
There is one store in the area that's lasted 3 years now:
In Oklahoma alone, 50% of people who use food pantries are employed and one in seven people are food insecure.
But a solution is near with a new grocery store planned for the area.
Yousef Binagin, the director of the Tulsa Metropolitan Ministry heads the project. "Bazar is unique in its own way because it's the first comprehensive community-centric grocery store of its kind," Binagin said.
In short, an automated grocery store is a vending machine. Customers choose what they want, check out, and leave, with no employees present.
The goal is to have affordable and healthy food from farm to store.
"We should be operational between October or so," said Binagin.
Another addition to this store is free meals for kids in the area every day with food trucks outside the automated grocery store.
Which, Gartland said, is a great addition to the food desert.
"Children need to be fed first," she said.
The question now is will the community use it?
Gartland gave us her honest answer: "Actually I love it, I would actually shop there I think it is a great idea."
The Tulsa Metropolitan Ministries are looking for additional funding to open the grocery store. The Tulsa City Council is discussing further funding options.
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