In Detroit’s Brightmoor neighborhood, the struggle with food insecurity, heightened by very few local grocery stores with healthy options, poverty, and transportation challenges, is a harsh reality for many families.
Now, a new food and wellness cooperative is offering hope.
With a grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony set for this Saturday, June 8, the Abbott Resource Center Coop, located at 20740 Grand River Ave., aims to address the need for accessible, nutritious food options in the area.
The process of opening the space started around a year ago when the Brightmoor Connection Food Pantry received a one-time $500,000 grant from the Priority Health Total Health Foundation. The gift made the new cooperative possible, which will transform the existing Brightmoor Connection Food Pantry into a hub for healthy food and wellness services, with an emphasis on member ownership.
The Priority Health Total Health Foundation, established in 2020 as a merger between Total Health Care and Priority Health, has a mission to improve the health and wellbeing of the people of Detroit by investing in organizations dedicated to serving the needs of the community.
“We were fully on board with transforming their food pantry into a food coop because food coops move away from a charity model to a social change model,” the Foundation said in a statement. “Food coops provide pride of ownership and involvement and decision making by the residents who they serve. This coop will provide a form of economic security and also promote economic development by emphasizing job creation and small business support.”
Beyond traditional physical health, the Foundation is centered around the importance of factors such as education, neighborhood environment, health care access, and access to nutritious food in shaping well-being.
At the new 6,000-square-foot facility, the ground floor will accommodate both the existing pantry and the newly established coop, which will eventually transition entirely into the coop. Within the 2,500 square feet allocated for the food cooperative, Brightmoor residents will have a say in determining the food offerings, collaborating with local vendors to introduce fresh, healthy options previously unavailable in the neighborhood.
The space’s upstairs is currently still being remodeled, but will later serve as transitional housing for mothers and children in the neighborhood who are homeless and in need of temporary shelter. The dormitory style center with a communal bathroom will provide for up to nine moms with children.
The space will also offer a computer room to apply for jobs and a community space for rent
Brightmoor residents themselves are still working on renovating Abbott Resource Center Coop, and additional amenities will become available in the coming weeks and months.
