Spartanburg’s Northside is about to get healthier food choices. A brand new Healthy Food Hub is expected to open January 2014, complete with a community garden, a kitchen, café and the relocation of the Hub City Farmers’ Market from its existing location on Magnolia Street.
The $1.6 million project will be located on Howard Street, between Milan and Vernon streets, addressing what’s considered to be a “food desert,” or an area that does not have access to fresh fruits and produce.
“There is nothing else like this in the area,” said Brendan Buttimer, interim executive director of the Hub City Farmers’ Market. The Northside development project has been a longtime team effort between the City of Spartanburg, The Butterfly Foundation, the Mary Black Foundation, The Northside Development Corporation and The Hub City Farmers’ Market.
The city will be donating the land to Northside Development, who will develop and lease the property. The Butterfly Foundation will run the community kitchen and café, while the Hub City Farmers’ Market will run the retail market and Saturday Farmers Market. Spartanburg City Council last week approved a first reading on deeding the land over, and a second reading is expected to pass at the next council meeting on Aug. 12.
The Butterfly Foundation, a community development organization that provides assistance for housing, job readiness and culinary training, was instrumental in working with the Cancer Institute to secure a $545,000 grant. The community kitchen will host cooking classes and other food demos while the café will focus on healthy meals at affordable prices, said Buttimer.
The community garden/urban farm will be about an acre with an edible garden, compost and canning demo area.
“There will be a lot of emphasis on education so the community can come in and see what they can do with a small urban space,” said Nikki Smith, Hub City Farmers’ Market manager. They also plan to have a greenhouse and hoop house to grow produce during the winter months and hope to include chickens and chicken coops.
Fruits and veggies grown at the urban farm, along with products from other local farms, will be sold at the new retail market. The retail market will be open six days a week, year-round, and will give residents an outlet to shop when the seasonal farmers market is not being held, said Smith. Affordability is key, she said. “We will offer very affordable, very healthy items geared to residents of the Northside.”
The Food Hub, especially the café, is also expected to draw customers from nearby Wofford College and the new Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine.
The groundbreaking is expected just as soon as all of the financing and city council appropriations are secured.
“A lot of people have been working to make this a success,” said Buttimer. “This is really an exciting time.”
