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After Kroger closure, grocery store on wheels is lifeline for Walnut Hills

Posted at 11:35 PM, Nov 03, 2017
and last updated 2017-11-03 23:42:09-04

CINCINNATI -- Local businesses are stepping up to try to make fresh produce a possibility for Walnut Hills.

The neighborhood Kroger closed eight months ago, and Findlay Market's seasonal options for fresh produce have packed up for the winter. Now, a grocery store on wheels has become vital in bringing fruit and vegetables to the community.

Every Friday. From 1 to 3 p.m., people can come to the former Kroger parking lot to pick up produce at Healthy Harvest Mobile Market.

MORE: Walnut Hills farmstand helps fill gap left by closed Kroger store

It’s a temporary solution, but Walnut Hills residents are grateful for an option that doesn’t involve catching the bus to Coryville or Norwood.

Just steps away from the mobile market, Zweets, a Walnut Hills business once known for selling candy, is adding produce to its inventory.

"This is not a grocery store, but if you just need a small item like an onion or a pepper, it's right in your neighborhood and you have access,” Owner Gayle Givens said.

Gary Dangel, healthy outreach coordinator for the Walnut Hills Redevelopment Foundation, says access to fresh food on this corner is the ingredient that will help the whole neighborhood grow.

"It's kind of ground zero in the middle of $60 million worth of redevelopment that will be happening around Peebles Corner in the next 18 to 24 months,” Dangel said.