HOLLAND, Mich. — As the need for affordable, healthy food continues in our communities, Community Action House in Ottawa County is making a major expansion.
They are now just months away from opening what will be the first of its kind along the lakeshore.
It's called a food club.
"A Food Club is really a membership that gives you access to fresh fruits, vegetables and all of the non-perishables that your family can use at a very low cost that's on a sliding scale," said David Lee, Project Manager for Community Action House.
Chara Bouma-Frediger is the organization's Food Access Program Manager. She explains it as a middle ground.
"The Food Club really comes in the middle in between the options of a free food pantry and a full-priced retail grocery store," she said.
Leaders with the project say this Food Club is targeting what they call the "ALICE" population, which stands for "Asset Limited Income Constrained but Employed."
"It's really that group of folks who aren't able to qualify for benefits because they make too much," said Bouma-Frediger, "but they still aren't able to get everything they need to make ends meet."
Lee explained that members will pay anywhere from $11 to $17 per month to get upwards of $190 in groceries depending on the size of their family.
"We feel like by opening up this Food Club we're creating a new choice and a new option for people," said Lee. "A place where they can still expend the dollars, the limited dollars they have, but get a lot more in return."
But fresh, affordable food isn't all the club will be offering.
It will also offer help and support for members with things like housing and finances. Community Action House calls it a "multi-functional" space. It will have expanded cafe-like seating, classrooms, computers and meeting spaces along with the grocery section.
"We want members to leave here with hope but also with progress working with a partner that's embedded into the community that can help them navigate whatever they're going through," Lee said.
In the final stretch of fundraising for the $4.25 million, 16,000 square foot project, Community Action House also announced that a generous donor will match gifts dollar-for-dollar up to $150,000 for the months of May and June.
And just this week, Lee said they've finally reached the $4 million milestone, and are now just a small percentage away from their goal.
"Folks will not have to feel stigmatized or feel bad about coming here," said Bouma-Frediger. "It will be just like a grocery store experience that's comfortable, it's familiar and it will have foods that you actually want."
Demolition and construction started in March, and the project is expected to be finished by the fall.
To learn more about the Food Club or to make a donation, click here.
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