Non-Profit Local Matters to Support Formation of Community-Owned Store

The Community Health Funders' Collaborative, a philanthropic partnership among The Columbus Foundation, Columbus Medical Association Foundation, Osteopathic Heritage Foundation, and United Way of Central Ohio, has awarded a $150,000 grant to area non-profit organization Local Matters to fund the establishment of a community owned food cooperative in the Near East Side community of Columbus, Ohio.

“Local Matters was selected from a competitive process for Franklin County’s first Healthy Community Award,” said Terri Donlin Huesman, Osteopathic Heritage Foundation, “we were looking for the best ideas to improve health and wellness in our community and we are encouraged by the potential to sustainably increase access to healthy foods on Columbus’ Near East Side.”

The Near East Side is among the toughest neighborhoods in the greater Columbus community to find ready access to fresh fruits, vegetables and other healthful foods. Local Matters is partnered with Circle 77, a neighborhood food buying club made up of fifty members working together to purchase healthy foods, to launch the resident-led project. Planning for the project will begin this summer with community outreach efforts aimed at recruiting families and residents interested in joining the cooperative.

Near East resident LeRoyna Edwards is one of the founders of the Circle 77 buying club whose goal is to bring healthful foods to her family and her neighbors. She explains “Our community has to take matters into our own hands when it comes to making good food choices, but it’s a major challenge given the number of unhealthy choices that surround us. We’re very proud to partner with Local Matters and to have the support of the Community Health Funders' Collaborative to create the kind of long-term changes that we all want to see in our neighborhood.”

Tonya Adams, a mental health clinician and member of Circle 77, shared “Food affects our physical health, our mental health and the greater well-being of our community. We believe that bringing healthy food into our neighborhood will have a direct positive effect on many of the challenges our neighborhood faces on a daily basis.”

Local Matters works to make healthful Ohio-grown foods accessible to everyone in the region and partners with the community to create the conditions for communities to feed themselves. “We believe in utilizing business solutions to address social issues,” said Local Matters’ Executive Director Michael Jones, “and our partners here on the Near East Side have already created a framework for a successful business model. We’re thrilled to partner with Circle 77 and to support the creation of this new community-owned business.” 

The food cooperative will be an EBT and WIC vendor that sells fresh local produce, dairy, whole grains, proteins and healthfully prepared foods. The co-op market will also eventually feature a demonstration kitchen and community space for healthful food education programming, serve as a food distribution hub with home delivery services and maintain its own teaching farm/garden plot.

Local Matters’ work directly confronts the childhood obesity and diabetes epidemics through educational programming for kids and families; provides healthy food access in our communities; supports family farms; and advocates for fair food policies. To learn more, visit www.Local-Matters.org.

Founded in 2006, the Community Health Funders’ Collaborative supports issues related to health and general wellness.  By working together, the funding partners strive to have a greater impact than they would be able to do separately and pool their funds for effective community investment.  Learn more about the Collaborative at www.chfcollab.org