Downtown Franklin's food desert leaves low-income residents with few options for fresh groceries

Bob Humphrey, a volunteer at The Church at West Franklin, and Franklin-native Cookie Brown, 67, walked arm-in-arm — both bundled up for the 20-degree weather on Tuesday — to the church van waiting curbside outside Brown's home.

Humphrey made sure to accompany Brown from the front steps of her home on Short Court off Natchez Street to the van, carefully checking the ground for any lingering ice. 

Brown and Humphrey chatted and laughed like they usually do, and later they sang a couple of hymns in route to their destination, Kroger on Hillsboro Road.

This has been Humphrey's Tuesday morning ritual for the past year, picking up Brown and up to 12 other senior citizens, some from Reddick Senior Residence, to drive them to Kroger.

"We heard from Pastor Kevin Riggs that it was difficult for people in this area to get to a grocery store since the Piggly Wiggly closed a few years ago, and we wanted to help fulfill a need," Humphrey said.

The seemingly simple task of going to the grocery store can be difficult for low-income residents without transportation when the closest grocery store is more than a mile away.

Some call the area a "food desert." And part of downtown Franklin fits the criteria.

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What is a food desert?

The U.S Department of Agriculture defines food deserts as parts of the country devoid of fresh fruit, vegetables and other healthful whole foods in impoverished areas, usually due to the absence of a grocery store. 

And Franklin is on the federally drawn map.

A portion of downtown Franklin is highlighted in green on the U.S. Food Access Research Atlas map census tract based on 2015 data, showing that a significant number of low-income residents live more than 1 mile from the nearest supermarket.

Characteristics that contribute to food deserts include income level, distance to supermarkets and vehicle access.

The designated area, which has a poverty rate of 30.2%, roughly stretches from West Main Street and Downs Boulevard to Third Avenue North. It's estimated that just over 2,000 people are located a mile or more from a grocery store and at least 578 are low income. And approximately 1,637 low-income families are within a half mile of a supermarket. 

The Natchez area is made up of clusters of low-income government housing, some located on neighboring Spring Street and some on Short Court. Franklin Housing Authority, partially funded by the federal government, manages the properties, comprised of 288 units with nearly 600 residents. 

Franklin Estates Mobile Home Park is also located on West Main Street without a nearby grocery.

Poverty in Franklin

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 7% of people in Franklin lived in poverty as of 2017.

In Franklin Special School District, 40% of children live in poverty, or qualify for free and reduced lunch.

The poverty threshold for families, determined by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is based on a family's annual income level and number of children in a household. For example, the poverty threshold for a typical family of four is based on an average annual income of approximately $25,700. The poverty threshold for a single individual is $12,490.

In stark contrast, the median household income in Franklin is $92,589 as of 2017, according to the U.S. Census.

Grocery store closure affects community

Residents once depended on the Piggly Wiggly grocery store on Columbia Avenue, located within walking distance of low-income areas. Pedestrians and disabled persons in electric wheelchairs could access the grocery with general ease. However, the grocery store closed in late December 2015 due to financial reasons and has been vacant ever since.

H.G. Hill Realty Company owns the property, but no plans of redevelopment are in the works yet, according to representatives. 

"There are no current plans for redeveloping the site, though we are always looking at opportunities as they become available,” Jimmy Granbery, chairman and CEO of H.G. Hill Realty Company, said.

But area residents say the absence of a close place to shop is an inconvenience. 

Getting food into people's hands

Chris Whitney, founder of the nonprofit One Generation Away food distributor says he sees the effects of food deserts every day in Franklin.

He's holding a food giveaway drive in the Liberty Elementary School parking lot at 9:30 a.m. Nov. 23 , where he says another food desert exists.

“The neighborhood around Liberty Pike has a Mapco, where you can’t really get healthy food. And when the Piggly Wiggly closed on Columbia, it instantly created a food desert,” Whitney said. There is only one store, Mexican Market, on Liberty Pike that sells food. 

The lack of options particularly difficult for seniors, he added.

“How can you carry (groceries) if you have a walker or a cane? Or get on and off public transportation,” Whitney said.

“Most of us don’t notice poverty in downtown Franklin, Tennessee. But there are people without cars who need food.”

Whitney’s goal is to get food into the hands of the people through his nonprofit, which served over 1.8 million meals last year.

According to Franklin Community Church Pastor Kevin Riggs, founder of Franklin Community House for disabled and formerly homeless men on Natchez Street, a lack of reliable transportation is just one barrier for low-income Franklin residents.

"Many don't have a car," Riggs said. "And it's difficult to walk a mile carrying a lot of bags. It limits the number of items they can get. Also, there is a bag limit on local transit."

Riggs said senior citizens are greatly affected by the food desert. 

Franklin-native Dewayne McCord, a U.S. Army veteran affectionately known in the neighborhood as Peter Pan, serves as monitor at Franklin Community House, and is in charge of shopping duty every Tuesday. He depends on the church bus ride to Kroger each week to gather items on the shopping list for the eight men who live at the home.

"This is a real help for me," McCord said. "I don't have a car, so I am able to get the shopping done.

"But when there was a Piggly Wiggly, I could just walk straight there and back to the house in less time."

Brown, who has a nerve disorder that flares during cold temperatures, said The Church at West Franklin's van service is also a blessing to her.

"It's so convenient, comfortable and something we can afford," she said. 

Ella Morton, 70, grew up on Natchez Street where her great uncle Pokey Morton owned a small grocery store, known for the bologna sandwiches.

Neighborhood residents could walk there, congregate with friends and family and visit other businesses on the street. Everybody knew everybody and supported each other, she said. 

Morton now lives at Reddick Senior Residence.

Each week, caregivers pick her up to take her to a grocery store to shop.

"I think it would be good if we had a grocery store close by because some people do not have a car, and they do not have the money to pay anyone to drive them," Morton said.

"We have a trolley, but some people do not have the money to ride it. It would help seniors to have a store close by."

The Franklin Transit Authority added 100 new stops in 2017, including two on Natchez Street, during its expansion, which included shorter travel times.

"When we expanded our services, we wanted to connect people to the resources and services they need,” Debbie Henry, Transportation Management Agency executive director, said. 

Envisioning the future

Derwin Jackson, president and CEO of Franklin Housing Authority, said he believes the area still needs a grocery store.

“The former grocery store was convenient, and I hope to get with someone to get another grocery store in the area. We are going through a redevelopment in that area, and we hope to work something out. My vision is to revitalize the Johnson Circle area and expand our partnership with the property owner to include a grocery store,” said Jackson. 

Riggs said the van service that The Church at West Franklin provides started as an experiment but has grown over the last year because it fulfills a need. 

He said he's thankful. 

"The burden of getting groceries is something no one in this city should have," Riggs said.

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Kerri Bartlett covers education and issues that affect children and families in Williamson County. She can be reached at kbartlett@tennessean.com, 615-308-8324 and @keb1414 on Twitter.