On Wednesday, July 31, LEAP is excited to officially kick off our much anticipated food store with a Grand Opening celebration.

From 2 to 4 pm there will be speakers, tastings, and tours of The LEAP Hub. From 4 to 7 pm, we'll be giving away prizes and hosting activities. Everyone is invited!

Why open a brick-and-mortar store focused on selling fresh fruits and vegetables? LEAP’s mission is to make local food affordable and accessible to as many people as possible. Roanoke’s West End neighborhood doesn't have a full-service grocery store; the LEAP Community Store was opened primarily to expand options for people who live in the West End.

But this store is for everyone. By opening a retail space, LEAP is able to offer local fruits and vegetables to the greater Roanoke community for many more hours than our farmers markets and mobile market can. Along with increased access for shoppers, comes increased income for farmers. The more local food shoppers buy, the more opportunities and stability for the farmers and food producers LEAP purchases from.

Shoppers will find shelves of local and regional fruits and vegetables, milk, cheeses, eggs, meat, grains, breads, jams, salsa, and spices. These items are labeled (and color-coded) “local” (purple; meaning within 100 miles), “regional” (green; meaning within 300 miles). Affordable non-local items (such as vegetable oil, salt, pepper, crackers, rice, sugar, and pasta) are stocked to allow all shoppers to purchase ingredients to prepare a nutritious meal. The store will offer options: we may carry, for example, local flour at a higher price point (this supports local farmers) alongside non-local flour at a lower price point (this gives shoppers more choices). Our farmers markets will still be the best place to find the widest variety of local goods, including craft items, flowers, and specialty foods.

The LEAP Community Store will accept cash and credit cards, SNAP/EBT (once we are approved), as well as market tokens and LEAP-issued Market/Harvest Bucks. SNAP shoppers receive 50 percent off their purchases of fruits and vegetables, thanks to Virginia Fresh Match. LEAP fundraises separately to offer 50 percent off fruits and vegetables to Medicaid and WIC customers.

The store is located at the right side of the building, on the first floor. LEAP Community Store hours are every Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 12-7 pm.