In recent years, Marc Barnes and his friends have collaborated on an effort to revitalize Steubenville, Ohio. Some events that have been put on include music festivals, street festivals, and art shows.
The Steubenville community is trying to bring life back to its downtown following the decline of the steel production and steel mill closures in the mid-20th century. The city’s infrastructure was built to support a population between 30,000 and 40,000 people. The 2020 U.S. Census reported a population of 18,161 residents living in Steubenville.
The city has become a food desert, a common occurrence in once industrious towns and cities that makes fresh produce, meat and dairy inaccessible to those without access to transportation. The Steubenville Grocery Box, co-founded by Barnes and Gregory Demary in 2019, aims to be an oasis for people residing in the urban food desert.
“As we were getting involved with this, it just became very apparent that what the downtown needed before all of the various fun things we were trying to do was food,” Barnes says.
The Steubenville Grocery Box is an order-and-pickup grocery store where customers can order local products online and collect those items at the recently opened storefront in downtown Steubenville, where Barnes and Demary hope to add a commercial kitchen.
Tom Redfern, the Senior Director of Sustainable Agriculture and Forestry at Rural Action, initially connected with the Steubenville Grocery Box about participating in the Appalachia Regional Food Business Center, an initiative started by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that supports producers by connecting them with local and regional supply chains and businesses like the Steubenville Grocery Box.
“It’s enabling us to work with people interested in advancing mid-tier, resilient local food systems,” Redfern says.
As the business continues to establish trust in the community, Barnes acknowledges that not everyone will be eager to explore local food options.
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Categories: Ohio, Business