TULSA, Okla. — The Dawson neighborhood in northeast Tulsa is no longer a food desert after 25 years, thanks to the opening of Bazaar, a new nonprofit grocery store.
Located at 5215 E. Pine St., the membership-based store provides fresh, local fruits, vegetables, and meat to a community that long struggled with food access.
WATCH: 'BAZAAR' grocery officially opens in Dawson Neighborhood:
Before Bazaar opened, the lack of access had a severe impact on the community. Dawson scored just a 1.3 on the Tulsa Neighborhood Conditions Index, a metric used by the city to evaluate the livability, economic vitality, and overall health of its neighborhoods, with 0 being the worst possible score.
When the last store in the Dawson neighborhood closed, residents like Delisa Woodruff had to drive miles just to buy food.
“Almost to Highway 244 is the closest grocery store,” Woodruff said.
Tulsa Metropolitan Ministries and city leaders worked to bring the grocery store to the area to improve those conditions.
"People are born and die in this community without access. The great thing about today. That they're going to be people who were born and die here who don't even know what the world was like before they had that access," Mayor Nichols said.
Mayor Monroe Nichols said projects like Bazaar are what make communities thrive.
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CONSTRUCTION BEGINS: 'BAZAR' micro grocery store coming to north Tulsa
"And so now folks who didn't have access for a long time, they do," Nichols said.
Former city councilor and Dawson resident Crista Patrick said food brings people together.
“Buying food together creates a community... and after losing our grocery store, we lost a lot of that in the neighborhood, and so this is a way for us to grow together and really bond with each other and be there for each other in a very safe way,” Patrick said.
The new store is already making dinner easier for local families.
“I can run up here, run in, grab something,” Woodruff said.
Outside the store, there are food trucks, and Bazaar is providing one free meal a day to students at nearby Hamilton Elementary School and Tulsa MET Junior High and High School.
For Woodruff, it’s a blessing her grandson and other kids can get food without paying a penny.
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“So good for them to not have to feel like it's a burden to need some food, they happily come here, they're able to come here without money and to be able to walk out with something,” Woodruff said.
Bazaar is a membership-only store. Patrick said it’s to track members' metrics and know who they serve.
Memberships are free for anyone living within half a mile of the location, and $25 a year for anyone else.
“I think it's a huge thing for this neighborhood and the rest of what they're doing here is just awesome,” Woodruff said.
Tulsa Metropolitan Ministries will open a community garden on the 29 acres they bought with the store. That is scheduled to open in the coming weeks.
Bazaar is open Wednesday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
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