Local groups, city discuss cooperative grocery and grocer recruitment for North Killeen

Community organizers and a local business development group used Killeen City Council’s Aug. 5 meeting to press for action on a persistent grocery access problem in North Killeen, presenting two different approaches and drawing repeated questions from council members about timelines, costs and what a city contribution would accomplish.

Community Hands of Central Texas and a separate group led by the Innovation Black Chamber of Commerce outlined different paths. Folly Brown of Community Hands summarized results from an interest survey and local meetings, saying 188 people responded and about 36 signaled interest in leadership roles in a cooperative grocery effort. “The cooperative grocery store is quite different from the traditional store because it’s people centered, people valued over profit,” Brown said. Dr. Sandra Crossley of the Innovation Black Chamber of Commerce outlined a proposed 24‑month, paid consulting and recruitment effort to attract a grocery operator, estimating a phased, four‑stage consulting engagement and requesting the council consider a professional…