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Membership-based micro grocery, solar-powered market to open in Dawson with ARPA and district funds
Summary
A membership micro grocery called the Bazaar will open in the Dawson neighborhood as a cashless, solar-powered market that will offer SNAP payments, free meals for students and infrastructure support from ARPA and a $500,000 District 3 allocation.
A membership-based micro grocery called the Bazaar will open in the Dawson neighborhood to expand access to healthy, affordable food in an area described in the meeting as a food desert. Project organizers said the store will operate on solar power, use biodegradable packaging and reusable cloth bags, and accept bank cards and SNAP benefits rather than cash.
The Bazaar’s founders described phase one as a small-footprint grocery and a set of food trucks, and said the market will provide one free meal per child for the roughly 450 students who attend schools in the Dawson neighborhood. Organizers said the project has applied for and received American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding and that $500,000 of District 3 funds were designated to help with infrastructure needs.
Project backers said membership for Dawson residents will be free; nonresidents can buy a low-cost membership. They also said the Bazaar will seek to source produce from Oklahoma farmers and to operate as a nonprofit-style market to increase buying power for donated funds and goods. The presenters described the development as intended to restore community ownership and provide local jobs and food access.
Organizers characterized this as the project’s Phase 1; future phases were not specified during the presentation. No firm opening date or full operating budget beyond the funding sources noted above was provided at the briefing.
