SHOALS— One of the phrases sociologists throw out is “food deserts” —places where food is not available. It appears that in the middle of southern Indiana, one such place is appearing. JayC, the lone grocery store in Shoals has announced it is closing July 31. That closing is part of a larger corporate restructuring by the company’s parent firm Kroger.
“Kroger is closing 60 stores and the one in Shoals is one of those on the chopping block. That is the only grocery in town,” said Executive Director for the Martin County Alliance for Business Jessica Potts.”A group of us met to try and figure that out. The community has to have a grocery store. There are people in Shoals who do not have transportation. They walk to the grocery store every day. We need to either come up with some transportation or some kind of grocery.”
“This was very short notice. There was nothing and then they posted that they were closing. It is part of a larger action by Kroger and JayC. We have a lot of people who shop here but apparently not enough to keep it open,” said Shoals Town Clerk-Treasurer Tina Franklin. “The population in our town is a lot of elderly people and for a lot of them the grocery in town is the only place they can go.”
Some residents in Shoals have been reaching out to Kroger to try to get the decision overturned. Others are scrambling to try and find another grocery provider.
“It’s been eye-opening for a lot of people. A community needs a grocery store, but no one is running to fill the void,” said Potts. “No one has reached out to us yet wanting to start a grocery. We are hearing talk about maybe setting up some kind of co-op. Whatever it is, it may have to be locally led by someone who wants the community to have a grocery.”
Over the past decade more and more grocery operations have been consolidated into fewer and fewer corporations. Many of those that are in operation are focused on growing in urban areas. Many of the groceries around the area tie back to some division of Kroger. Officials say it is unlikely they will be able to find a new grocer to fill the void in the time before the store closes.
“This is going to take some time. We are trying to figure out which community members to get together with. We met with the IU Center for Rural Engagement to pull in their resources. We are looking at potential avenues,” said Potts.
Most likely, in the interim, people will have to go on the road to go grocery shopping. The nearest stores are in Loogootee, but that still doesn’t solve the problem of food for people who do not have reliable transportation.
“We are trying to figure out if we need to or can get some transportation options together,” said Potts, whose organization is conducting a community survey to determine how great the need is for additional transportation.
One thing for certain, community and business leaders recognize a lack of a grocery is a problem and one that needs to be solved.
“It’s going to put a huge hole in the community,” said Franklin.
“We all are very aware the community does need a grocery and we are looking into different avenues to try and find a solution,” said Potts.