Philabundance to Open Fare & Square, the First Nonprofit Grocery Store in Chester

Elected Officials and Sunoco show their support for Fare & Square, a nonprofit grocery store Philabundance is putting in the City of Chester, Delaware County. From Left to Right: Brian MacDonald, Chairman, president and CEO of Sunoco, State Representative Thaddeus Kirkland, Bill Clark, president and executive director of Philabundance, Chester Mayor John Linder, PA Senator Dominic Pileggi and US Congressman Bob Brady

Philabundance to Open Fare & Square, the First Nonprofit Grocery Store in the United States Spring 2013

Philabundance, the Delaware Valley’s largest hunger relief organization, announced today that Fare & Square, the first nonprofit grocery store in the country is scheduled to open in the City of Chester in Spring 2013, at a groundbreaking event at the site of the new store. The nonprofit grocery store is a new model that will provide greater food access to the residents of Chester. 

Sunoco is a long-time, generous partner of Philabundance since 1993. As part of Sunoco's mission to give back to the community and fight hunger, Sunoco Chairman and CEO, Brian MacDonald, presented Philabundance with $200,000 for hunger relief efforts in the First Congressional District, including $100,000 allocated for Fare & Square capital needs. Sunoco has contributed more than $750,000 in fuel to Philabundance since 2005. This fuel is used to fill Philabundance's fleet of trucks which travel about 192,000 miles a year to deliver over 20 million pounds of food in the Delaware Valley.

 “When I first approached Philabundance in January 2011, I found an organization with both the commitment to end hunger in Chester and the know-how to do it,” said Congressman Bob Brady (D., PA), First Congressional District. “Today's ceremony is groundbreaking not just in bringing food to Chester, it is groundbreaking in the effort that got us here: an effort in which elected officials reached across partisan lines to bring food into this food desert.”

“This project signifies a new day in Chester,” said Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R., 9th District). “Both for the food that Fare & Square will sell to the greater Chester area, and also for the dozens of jobs that Philabundance will create here in the city. I have no doubt that this will be a huge step forward in the economic development of the 9th Street corridor.”

The west side of Chester is one of the 35 food deserts in the Delaware Valley according to the USDA. The City of Chester has been without a grocery store for 11 years. Fare & Square will give Chester residents the access to “good food right around the corner” that has not been available in a full scale grocery store. Fare & Square will sell nutritious food staples with a focus on fresh produce, meats, dairy, seafood, and frozen foods at everyday low prices. 

Everyone is welcome to shop at Fare & Square upon signing up for a free annual membership.  There are two levels of membership.  Those who qualify will receive a percentage of their purchase as “Fare & Square Bucks” to be applied to future purchase(s) of their choice.  Those who don’t qualify for “Bucks” are still able to benefit from everyday low prices and the broad product selection Fare & Square will provide. Fare & Square will accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Women Infant and Children (WIC) benefits to help customers stretch their dollar and will also provide SNAP outreach as an added community resource.  Philabundance hopes to replicate this model in other communities in the Delaware Valley.  

“Food access is a growing and complex problem across the country and in the Delaware Valley, and one that requires a complex solution,” said Bill Clark, president and executive director of Philabundance. “Philabundance has worked on this concept for five years, and we are thrilled to see it coming to fruition to help the residents of Chester.  We could not open Fare & Square in Chester without the help of our countless partners and supporters in this project, including Senator Dominic Pileggi and Congressman Bob Brady, who lead a bipartisan effort with Governor Corbett to get capital funding for the RACP funding for this project. Sunoco, a longtime partner of Philabundance who is committed to helping neighborhoods that suffer from hunger.  One of the reasons we are here today is because of their generous gift, which allowed us to move ahead at this time on the project.”

Philabundance could not move forward with this project and close on the property without the financing partnership of the Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF), The Reinvestment Fund (TRF) and TD Bank.   The Fare & Square project will include renovating a partially vacant building, and bring 30 new jobs to Chester.   The Delaware Valley Regional Economic Development Fund (DVREDF) and the Chester Economic Development Authority (CEDA), along with Mayor Linder, Chester City Council, and State Representative Thaddeus Kirkland were instrumental in the benefits this project brings to Chester. 

Philabundance will renovate the entire 21,000 sq ft building, creating a new gateway on the west end of Chester at the corner of 9^th and Trainer.  Fare & Square will be a 13,000 sq ft grocery store, located in the site of last supermarket within Chester city limits.  In addition, Family Dollar will be reconfigured to take up the 9^th street corridor and receive an improved facade. Philabundance is working with grocery retail consultants that run area grocery stores to help Philabundance create a grocery store that anyone would be proud to shop at.  

Philabundance has served the residents of Chester for more than 20 years and provides food to 14 member agencies in the city, 11 of which are food pantries. Philabundance will hold community meetings starting October 11^th to introduce community residents to the store, answer questions and take suggestions from potential shoppers about the types of food and services that will be available. 

For more information, please visit www.fareandsquare.org or call 215-339-0900. Photos are available upon request. 

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Philabundance reduces hunger and food insecurity in the Delaware Valley by providing food access to people in need in partnership with organizations and individuals. Philabundance provides a full plate of services through direct service programs and a network of close to 500 member agencies in 9 counties. Philabundance serves approximately 65,000 people per week at a cost of 50 cents per meal. There are more than 900,000 people in the Delaware Valley who are at risk for chronic hunger and malnutrition. In 2011, Philabundance distributed 21 million pounds of food. For more information about Philabundance, visit www.philabundance.org or call 215-339-0900. Visit us on Facebook, Facebook.com/Philabundance and follow us on Twitter, Twitter.com/Philabundance. If you or someone you know is in need of food assistance, please call Philabundance’s Food Help Line, 800-319-Food (3663).