Fare & Square Marks Grand Opening with Street Fair

To celebrate its Sept. 28 opening, Fare & Square, an innovative nonprofit grocery store concept, is closing down Trainer Street in front of the 16,000-square-foot store’s entrance to hold a street for the surrounding community, which has been without a supermarket since 2001. The event will also feature local community leaders, funders and Fare & Square staff.

The store’s opening brings down the number of Delaware Valley food deserts to 34, as well as creating 69 area jobs.

After a July 2010 Philabundance Community Survey found that more than 54 percent of Chester families must travel too far for groceries, the hunger relief organization developed Fare & Square as a systemic approach to combat food inequality and boost low-income households’ access to wholesome food staples. The store offers six departments stocked with brand-name and private label items, including produce, deli, fresh meat, seafood, dairy, and frozen and dry goods.

In addition to featuring everyday low pricing, Fare & Square accepts SNAP (formerly Food Stamps).

Shoppers can sign up for a free Carrot Club membership, under which they’re eligible to earn rewards through in-store promotions and special values. Members whose households earn 200 percent of the poverty line or less can receive Carrot Cash benefits, a 7 percent credit toward future purchases.