Closure of South Bend Kroger Causes Concerns

SOUTH BEND, Ind.–People who live on South Bend’s westside say the closure of a Kroger grocery store in the area is just one of several challenges being thrown at them lately.

The LaSalle Park Neighborhood Association met Thursday night to speak with other residents to talk about ways to make things easier for people. Topics like food access, safety, housing, and the high costs of goods were all brought up along with other concerns from the community.

The Kroger store used to be on Western Avenue and served the LaSalle Park Neighborhood. It closed in July. That Kroger closure means people in the area now have to go across the street to Martin’s, the closest chain grocery store.

“Groceries are more expensive at Martin’s than they are at Kroger, and also with the loss of foot traffic in this particular Plaza, it’s impacting the other businesses surrounding businesses,” said Jordan Giger co-founder of the Black Lives Matter chapter in South Bend.

The group split off into small groups to discuss the key issues, write down their answers, and then present them to the group.

“Over the last few months, we’ve been having conversations with community members and key stakeholders about issues that are… pressing the South Bend community, particularly the black community on the West side of South Bend, and so we decided… to host a more public conversation with residents about some of the issues and things that have been coming up,” said Giger.

Another meeting on the Kroger closure will be held at the Martin Luther King Jr. Dream Center on August 19th from 6-8 pm.

The Closure of a Kroger in South Bend Is Causing Stress to Those Who Live There  was originally published on wibc.com