Downtown residents react to another grocery store closing

As one of the few grocery stores downtown is set to close its doors in three months, nearby residents weigh in on their limited options.

Kathy Rands lives in Osbourne Village and says grocery stores in her area are too pricey. With her go-to place closing down in three months, Rands will have to travel further and pay more for the commute.

“I take the cab down here to save us money,” said Rands.

The store is a go-to for many newcomers in the area who do not have access to cars.

“I live here. And just need to walk for five minutes for groceries. And now I don’t know what to do,” said one shopper.

Giant Tiger confirmed to CityNews their location on Donald Street and Ellice Avenue is set to close its doors on November 7.

They say the decision to close any of their stores is not taken lightly and is made with careful consideration and thorough analysis. The company said they are working directly with affected employees.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea. Because it’s the only grocery store except for the one down the street. And a lot of people use this,” said another shopper.

Downtown Giant Tiger is one of the businesses that donates groceries to Agape Table.

Dave Feniuk, the general manager of the local food bank Agape, says they’ve seen an increase in the number of people who rely on them to feed their families over the past few years, and with another grocery store closing down, they are expecting to see even more people walk through their doors.

“It’s only gonna get worse. With different organizations having to close down just because of the toxicity of what’s coming into the downtown area, we are expecting to see a huge increase again,” said Feniuk.

One expert CityNews spoke to over the phone said a likely reason for stores shutting down is due to financial strains.

“You can kind of think of food deserts similar to regular deserts where it’s difficult for plants to grow. It’s difficult for stores to survive in low-income areas. It has implications for the people living in that neighbourhood, but when there’s a high concentration of poverty, it also makes it difficult for a store to survive. And then people end up having to leave the neighbourhood to access groceries, which is another barrier in terms of food security,” said Dr. Natalie Riediger, Department of Food and Human Nutritional Sciences at the University of Manitoba.

As for the residents in the area, with the store closing down, they will have to travel further or spend more.

“I’ll have to go to mini-stores here and pay double,” said one shopper.

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