A small family grocery store, the only one in its area, is struggling to keep the shelves stocked and the lights on.

As WPCO reported, Avondale Town Center Market is full of empty shelves. The owners, a local family, say they are doing everything they can to stay open. But due to their small size, they have found it increasingly difficult to compete with large chains at a time when food insecurity is rising nationwide. 

While big retailers can buy in bulk and negotiate lower prices, small independent stores often pay more for the same products. These costs are only increasing as extreme weather has driven up food prices.

"We do not have the same buying power our big box competitors have, so we try to make sure our prices are competitive and aligned with them," co-owner Chanel Bryant explained to WPCO.

For residents of Avondale, the store's struggles go far beyond inconvenience. Food deserts force people to travel farther for groceries, rely on expensive corner stores, or skip fresh produce altogether. This can worsen health disparities and strain already tight household budgets.

Meanwhile, as small grocers struggle to get enough inventory, enormous amounts of edible food are discarded from larger chains. In fact, 30% to 40% of the U.S. food supply gets wasted every year, according to the Food & Drug Administration.

Companies like Martie acquire and resell surplus and soon-to-expire inventory that might otherwise go to waste, and many grocery stores have started their own discount bins to offload expiring food. 

But staffers at small grocers with tailored products tend to stay further ahead of reducing this waste and are more likely to customize their stock to local customers' needs than a more homogenous national chain, so it's a hit to a community to lose one. 

For the town of Avondale, the hope is that increased awareness leads to meaningful change. 

"The community needs to continue to support them," Sandra Jones Mitchell, president of Avondale Community Council, told WPCO. "We begged for that store, we prayed for that store, we now have a grocery store that needs our help, we support them 100%."

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