South Jackson is losing another shopping option with the closing of a Family Dollar store

By Aaron Lampley | Originally published by Mississippi Today

The Family Dollar store at the busy intersection of Cooper and Terry roads will be closing its doors by the end of May, further limiting options for people to buy groceries, school supplies and cleaning items in south and west Jackson. 

The store’s closure was announced internally to employees toward the end of March. Signs went up shortly after, informing people of the store’s closing sale. Items have been discounted up to 70% this month to eliminate remaining inventory. 

Bobby “Bulldog” Rhymes lives a few blocks from Family Dollar and shops at the store several times a month. He said he wasn’t aware of the closure until he approached the store and saw the going-out-of-business signs that cluttered the windows.

Rhymes said he often has to go to the Cash Saver in west Jackson to get groceries because of the lack of stores in his neighborhood. 

“They’re leaving us without local service. Without being able to go get what you want,” Rhymes said. “Instead of 15 minutes, you’re talking 40 or an hour.”

Mississippi Today reached out to Family Dollar Corporate along with the district manager of the Terry Road location for comment about the closure. Neither responded before publication. The chain will have 10 stores remaining in south Jackson after the closure.

Acire McDonald serves as the assistant store manager. A transfer from another Family Dollar store in Brandon, McDonald has been working overtime at the Terry Road location. A manager asked her to help fill in as the store’s employees quit or were fired. 

“No context, not telling us if the old employees are going to be able to go to another store or anything like that,” McDonald said. “So we just filling in from other stores.” 

Mississippi Today spoke with two other employees, who both went through similar experiences.

When asked about the recent closures, Jackson Ward 6 City Council Member Lashia Brown-Thomas said a Roses discount store will soon be opening near the Family Dollar that is closing. She urged residents to remain patient while the council works to “bring south Jackson back together.”

Ward 7 Council Member Kevin Parkinson said he and Thomas had met with several groups who were planning projects in the area but could not provide information about them.

The closure of the nearly decade-old store is just one of many across Jackson in recent years. The continuous closures have primarily affected south Jackson. The most recent closure in the area was the Food Depot at the intersection of West McDowell and Terry Road. The grocery store closed in December, creating an even bigger problem for food access in south Jackson. 

A resident of Willowood for 28 years, Lula Green is one of the many residents affected by the scarcity of stores.

“Its very difficult, because we don’t have anything around in this area,” Green said. “Now everything is moving out of the area, and we have to go way out in order to get something.”

Green told Mississippi Today that when she can’t get groceries at the local Cash Saver, she has to travel nearly 7 miles to the Kroger on I-55 in northeast Jackson to get what she needs. She goes to Walgreens in Clinton to buy her medication. Green says it is more convenient than the local Walmart, despite the nearly 6-mile difference.

Mississippi is one of the top states in the nation for food insecurity. Nearly 1 in 5 people faced food insecurity in 2023 in Hinds County, where Jackson is located.  

The area has limited grocery options aside from a traditional store. Residents Dewaskii Davis, Jina Daniels and Matt Casteel have a network of gardens across the Jackson area. Additionally, other options – such as the Mississippi Farmers Market in Jackson – are helping residents find food for lower prices.

Astel Ellis has worked at the farmers’ market for 11 years. 

“The vendors we are getting our food from, they’re consolidating in a way that makes running a small grocery store unsustainable each year,” Ellis said. “Local communities that can come together and make food will be a more and more important resource in the future.”

Scott Crawford, a disability rights activist who lives in the Fondren area of north Jackson, said while he has the privilege of living near a grocery store, he’s concerned for people who don’t.

“It’s absolutely vital that they have a grocery store much closer to them, because they don’t have a car and can’t just load groceries into a trunk,” Crawford said. “It is way more difficult than most people understand.”

This article was originally published by Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Source: Original Article