NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) – Food Lion Feeds has donated $225,000 along with grocery store equipment to make The Market at THRIVE the Peninsula’s first free grocery store.

This store is set to open in November 2023 at 12749 Nettles Drive in Newport News and will help address food insecurity in the area and provide more nutritional options to those in need.

The Market will have a traditional grocery store set-up and will provide more options than a normal food bank.

Client-choice pantries like The Market are designed to reduce food waste and allow those in need to have more control over their health and nutrition.

“We know that roughly 60% of families who struggle with food insecurity won’t visit a food pantry because of the stigma,” said THRIVE Peninsula executive director Angela York. “By hosting a client-choice food pantry in a grocery store setting, we can connect hungry people with healthy foods in a more natural setting.”

THRIVE Peninsula served more than 18,000 people in 2022, and within two years of The Market’s opening, the organization anticipates that it can serve up to 30,000 people annually.

For more information on THRIVE’s mission, visit their website.