Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Wards 7, 8 Open First Full-Service Grocery Store in Over a Decade

The fourth full-service grocery store to open east of the Anacostia River, the first in over a decade, recently welcomed its first customers last week. The stores will expand food access in Wards 7 and 8.

The store, a franchise of the German retail grocery chain Lidl, is located in Skyland Town Center in Ward 7. Wards 7 and 8 have traditionally been considered food deserts, or urban regions where a significant proportion of the population lives more than a mile away from the nearest grocery store. The new Lidl location will help provide groceries for almost 160,000 residents that reside east of the Anacostia River. Its completion is a result of 15 years of work by residents, community leaders and Washington, D.C. officials, putting the count of full-service grocery stores in the District’s seventh and eighth wards at four.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) said the opening of the new Lidl location serves as the culmination of hard work from residents whose efforts ensured increased food access in the area.

 @LidIUS/Twitter | D.C. recently opened the first full-service grocery store east of the Anacostia River. The store is a franchise of the German retail Grocery store Lidl, and will be providing more grocery options to the residents of Wards 7 and 8.

“For years, the community in Ward 7 has made clear what they want to see at Skyland Town Center – retail, housing and dining. I promised we would deliver, and we are keeping that promise,” Bowser said in a press release. “Today, I am grateful for the residents and community leaders who never gave up on Skyland, and I’m grateful to Lidl for helping us accomplish something that hasn’t been done in 15 years: opening a full-service supermarket East of the River.”

Bowser has put forth significant resources towards creating affordable food access for the community, including allocating $73 million to the Food Access Fund, which awards grants to food-related businesses seeking to open a new location in areas of the District that are designated as having low food access. 

Bowser has also made alterations to the Supermarket Tax Incentive, which waves taxes and fees to grocery stores to encourage development and investment in areas lacking access to groceries and fresh food, and increased funding for the Neighborhood Prosperity Fund, which provides financing for projects that attract private investment to distressed communities.

Uwe Brandes, faculty director of the Georgetown Urban and Regional Planning Program said while more must be done, the addition of the new grocery store will provide more options to consumers east of the Anacostia.

“There are two other large grocery stores east of the Anacostia river, so this one store does not represent a sea-change,” Brandes wrote. “However, it is heartening to see more diversity in retail offerings and since Lidl specializes in discount groceries, this will be a valuable and competitive alternative to the other two.” 

Brandes said the new store is also a part of a surge of new construction in the area which will offer additional options for the Anacostia community.

“The market demand is clearly there. There is no reason why other retailers should not immediately follow,” Brandes wrote to The Hoya. “This store opening represents a growing recognition that pent-up consumer demand is already there and new opportunities for other grocery stores and restaurants will be embraced by the community.”

D.C. Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development John Falcicchio (D), said the store’s opening signals the end of long-distance commutes in search of healthy food options for many residents and their families. 

“Mayor Bowser remains committed to expanding food access points East of the River,” Falcicchio said in a press release from the Mayor’s Office. “We will not stop this work until we eradicate food deserts in Wards 7 and 8.”

According to Ward 7 Councilmember Vincent Gray, Lidl’s decision to open a location in Ward 7 represents an investment in D.C. residents who live east of the Anacostia River. 

“Lidl at the Skyland Town Center in Ward 7, which is also the first Lidl in the District, will provide residents with greater food access, healthier food options and serve as a vital retail anchor,” Gray said in the press release. “I am excited about the valuable location the East End provides for retail and hospitality opportunities.”

Brandes said it is important to continue to work towards ensuring all regions of the District are able to thrive.

“With about a quarter of the city’s population living east of the Anacostia river, there is no reason why neighborhood centers cannot thrive to the same degree they are in other neighborhoods of the city,” Brandes wrote.

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