Could the Big Easy Help Big D Solve Its Food Desert Problem?

The city of Dallas is looking to New Orleans to help solve its growing food insecurity program.

Nearly two years ago the city offered $3 million to anyone willing to build a grocery store in a southern Dallas food desert.

No one has taken the city up on its offer, which has forced the city to think of alternative ways to put the money to use.

Several city council members recently traveled to Louisiana to learn about the New Orleans Fresh Food Retailer Initiative, a program that has helped start 4 grocery stores in several low-income communities.

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"Before we opened in December of 2017 people were forced to travel to neighboring Saint Bernard, several miles or travel across the French Quarter (to find a grocery store). This area was a food desert," said Marc Robert, General Manager of Robert's Fresh Market.

The $14 million public-private partnership between the city of New Orleans and Hope Credit Union provides funding and financing to developers who are willing to build grocery stores in under-served areas.

"We are over 65-percent focused on selling perishable items. That's fresh and local produce," Robert said. "Funding was tight when it became time that we were ready to start this store, and without the help of Hope we would not have been able to put the capital together to pull off this type of operation."