Stockbox grocery stores aim to end food deserts in Seattle

When was the last time you were able to get a stick of butter down at the corner market?

The days of small, local grocery stores are disappearing, fast leaving in its wake “food deserts.” Georgetown and South Park are just a couple Seattle neighborhoods with food deserts.

That means someone there would have to travel at least a mile outside the neighborhood boundary to find groceries.

“People don’t often think of Seattle as a food desert city because, in fact, we have a tremendous number of grocery stores,” says Carrie Ferrence with Stockbox.

Look at West Seattle, she says. There are seven grocery stores in that community with more on the way. It’s an overabundance of food, while in other neighborhoods, grocery stores just don’t exist.

That’s why Ferrence started Stockbox. It’s a micro grocery store that carries, above all, fresh produce, meats, and milk – the staples.

“Usually, the focus that you see when you walk into either of our stores is the produce. We put that front and center. It’s something that we’re really proud of. We keep a really fresh and interesting selection that’s really price sensitive to the neighborhood,” she says.

Not to mention, they pull from local vendors to fill their stores.

Stockbox is Ferrence’s way to combat food deserts, where families often turn to fast food instead of fresh ingredients.

She had to start small.

In fact, Ferrence’s first store was built inside of a shipping container and placed in the Delridge neighborhood in 2011.

It was a hit. Then came South Park’s Stockbox store built inside of an actual building in 2012. First Hill got a Stockbox last summer.

“It reminds them of how grocery shopping used to be when every neighborhood did have a grocery store,” says Ferrence.

Her approach to solving food deserts has been well received. “When people come into our store, usually their first reaction is, ‘Does this feel good here? I like the color, I like the freshness, I like the feel here, I like that I can bring the kids here. I like that this feels fun and inviting,'” she says.

She’s now looking to open up to three more Stockbox corner grocery stores in the next year.

“The way that we look at it is celebrating food and rebuilding the connection that families and communities have to food,” says Ferrence.

It’s not enough to just provide the place to get fresh food. Ferrence says Stockbox also partners with the community centers for food education classes, too.