((PKG)) SALVATION ARMY GROCERY STORE
((Banner: Food))
((Reporter: Deborah Block))
((Camera: Adam Greenbaum))
((Adapted by: Martin Secrest))
((Map: Baltimore, Maryland))
((NATS))
((Banner: The Salvation Army’s nonprofit DMG store provides affordable food to neighborhoods with few grocery stores))
((NATS))
((JOANN WEAVER, NEIGHBORHOOD RESIDENT))
You come in, you get what you want, and they close at a reasonable hour. You can still get off from work, and come and pick up a few things, and then go home and prepare dinner. But, you know, the other stores, they stay open a little bit late, but you have to ride far. And with the gas getting as high as it’s getting, I like to do everything on the way home, and if I can find everything I want on the way home, and the price is good, I’m stopping right there.
((NATS))
((MAJOR GENE HOGG, CENTRAL MARYLAND COMMANDER, SALVATION ARMY))
Well, we started taking a look, and we thought, we need to open a grocery store where affordable food can be had. Food education and nutrition is an issue, and that’s what we’re trying to address. We know it’s a long bridge to get through, and we also know that you just can’t tell somebody to eat it. You’ve got to show them what it is, how to cook it, what it tastes like, and the joy of cooking. And part of our mission is to strengthen that family table, right? Because (for) even people in middle class America, that’s a problem. What they do, they eat on the run. So, what we’re trying to do is to encourage people in our area to sit down with their families, cook a meal, and eat.
((NATS))
((Reporter: What do you think of the store?))
((REVEREND SAMUEL LUPICO, CATHOLIC PRIEST))
I think it’s wonderful. I like little stores that I can get around, and I don’t have to wait an hour to get out of the store, and there’s nothing here to get me to buy more than what I need. That’s what I like about it, and the staff are great, the people that work here are great, and I love it because it provides an opportunity for people who don’t have stores like this to shop in one, without paying for transportation to get out, and can’t carry stuff home. And it’s also a store where you can come every week, and just buy a little bagful and you’re OK. That’s what I like about it.
((NATS))
((MAJOR GENE HOGG, CENTRAL MARYLAND COMMANDER, SALVATION ARMY))
Our business model is really to break even, alright? If we do better than that, then the proceeds from this would go to support our program called Catherine’s Cottage for women who’ve been rescued from human trafficking. So, if we were to receive any type of profit, it would go into another service of the Salvation Army.
