After a small, rural town lost its only grocery store, even picking up ingredients for something as simple as guacamole became an all-day task.
Wanting to help their community, two local residents with no grocery-store experience decided to open a market.
Here's what to know
In Matador, Texas, locals Chris and Vanessa Paul planned to open Paul's Neighborhood Market after the town's Lowe's closed in 2025, KCBD reported.
That shutdown left Matador residents without nearby access to fresh produce, turning the area into a food desert.
As a result, residents had to take hour-long drives to buy basic essentials, with trips taking them as far as Lubbock, Childress, Plainview, or Floydada.
According to Vanessa Paul, the Lowe's in Floydada is 39 miles away, while reaching Lubbock means an 82-mile one-way drive.
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While some local stores tried to stock fresh produce, Vanessa said those efforts left a lot to be desired.
"Allsup's put in a case for some produce for lettuce, tomatoes, that kind of stuff," she said, per KCBD. "But you know, it's hard to get avocados and serranos and all the other vegetables that people enjoy."
Before taking the plunge and opening their own grocery store, the couple spent about a year hoping another buyer would take over the abandoned Lowe's. When no one did, they decided to take action themselves.
The high costs of food deserts
For Matador residents, long grocery runs represented much more than a time-consuming inconvenience; they also meant extra time on the road, higher fuel costs, and safety concerns.
Vanessa Paul said her own family felt the stress of those trips while juggling children's sports and other activities. But she also recognized that other residents faced even bigger challenges.
"With gas being as high as it is," long road trips were even more costly, stretching strained budgets even further, Vanessa observed. And that's for people who can afford automobiles.
"We are a pretty poor income community and a lot of people don't have vehicles that can get to a grocery store an hour away and back," Vanessa added.
The situation also presented safety concerns.
"We have older people in the community and the AI plants coming in, they're nervous about driving on the highways with the semis," Vanessa said, per KCBD.
For the Pauls, opening the store signified more than just helping their neighbors in the present; it also meant helping to preserve the community into the future.
"It's a necessity. We need it. Without a grocery store, you know, who stays? Eventually everybody goes, you know?" Vanessa said, as quoted by KCBD.
"It's all about trying to help our community, trying to help our community stay alive," added Chris.
Where can I learn more?
Matador, Texas isn't the only place where people are stepping in when fresh food is hard to come by. These stories follow urban gardeners, food pantries, community fridges, and neighborhood food forests working to get more food closer to home.
• In Denver, Beverly Grant built a farmers market for fresh food in underserved neighborhoods.
• In Rhinelander, a food pantry partnered with local gardens and grocers to feed families.
• In Seattle, neighbors turned a vacant lawn into a free food forest open to anyone.
• In Tucson, a local organizer launched a food forest project to tackle heat and hunger.
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