SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Syracuse Economic Development Corporation (SEDCO) will use a state grant of more than $1.7 million to renovate and reopen the vacant grocery store in the Valley Plaza.
In addition, the Broome County Council of Churches Inc. and the Adirondack North Country Association (ANCA) were also awarded food-access grant funding.
They were among nine organizations receiving a total of $10 million through the state’s Food Access Expansion grant program. It seeks to increase food access for New Yorkers living in areas with limited options for “affordable, fresh food,” the office of Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a June 20 announcement.
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The funding will support the development and expansion of supermarkets, food cooperatives, permanent farm stands, mobile markets, and other retail food stores in underserved regions while also increasing markets for New York farmers, Hochul’s office said.
Projects
SEDCO will partner with the City of Syracuse, Ellicott Development Company, Super Imperial Market, and Food Access Healthy Neighborhoods Now to renovate and reopen the Valley Plaza grocery store on the South side of Syracuse that has been vacant since 2018. It was a Tops Markets location that was among 10 “underperforming” stores that the company closed.
The new project will result in 22,000 square feet of retail food space bringing fresh produce, meats, and prepared foods to the neighborhood and grocery delivery for seniors.
“SEDCO’s award from the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets is a huge win for Syracuse and the Southside neighborhood. Having access to fresh and healthy food is critical in every neighborhood in this city, and now an area with limited access will have a grocery store once again,” Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh said in the state’s announcement. “I am thankful to our City staff, Food Access Healthy Neighborhoods Now, and other community advocates who are working diligently to address food desert concerns in our neighborhoods, and to Governor Hochul and New York State for this significant investment to help support these efforts.”
Besides the Syracuse project, the Broome County Council of Churches will use a state grant of more than $1.5 million to partner with members of their task force to renovate an existing building to include a new commercial kitchen, and to purchase and customize a new Mobile Market Bus. The Council’s task force includes the City of Binghamton, Broome County, Eden Food for Changes, Cornell Cooperative Extension, and others.
The new kitchen will be used to produce SNAP-eligible prepared meals for retail sale at the Greater Good Grocery and in the Mobile Market Bus, per the state’s announcement.
ANCA will use its grant of more than $468,000 to partner with The ADK Food Hub and Whitten Family Farm to increase the availability and distribution of food throughout the North Country region.
The project will construct a new processing kitchen and retail store in St. Lawrence County. The effort will help to expand a permanent farmstand, allowing for food processing and sale of processed products from other farms, including milk, yogurt, cheese, salads, frozen vegetables, baked foods, pickles, and jams.
The Real Food Hub will result in a building that offers climate-controlled storage, a processing kitchen, loading dock, and retail storefront, the state said.
