If you aren't familiar with the "food desert" concept, you may be soon. The Center for Closing the Health Gap is launching an awareness campaign about communities without access to a full-service grocery store.
Executive Director Renee Mahaffey Harris says Cincinnati is one of only a few cities nationwide to win a grant for the campaign.
"We are going to build a fund. And that fund will enable to provide access to grocery stores in sites throughout our city and throughout this region that do not have a full service grocery store," she says.
Harris says the goal is to raise $15 million.
Rather than follow a big-box grocery model, Harris says the center wants to help develop smaller, independently owned stores with strong community ties. Cincinnati plans to follow a model that's found success in Philadelphia.
