City receives 900K to help build new fresh food marketplace

David Pollard, The Sanford Herald, N.C.
·2 min read

Jul. 7—Sanford was one of 30 rural communities which recently received money from a Rural Transformation Grant Fund to support economic development projects.

The fund awarded the city $900,000 to be used only in the city's downtown area. The hope is that the funds will help grow and leverage the city's downtown into an asset for economic growth that will continue to remain vibrant over time.

City officials believe the way to make that happen is using the money to develop the Sanford Agricultural Marketplace in the downtown area. The marketplace will be located where the old King Roofing and Heating Building is located, which is at the corner of Charlotte Avenue and First Street.

The state funded grant along with $505,000 from Pilgrim's Pride, $50,000 from the Farm Bureau over the next six years and $213,600 from North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission will be used to build the new facility.

Mayor Chet Mann said they will harvest what they can from the 105-year-old building and weave it into the new facility, which should be completed by 2024.

Once completed he believes it will become a destination to get fresh fruits and vegetable, plus a lot more.

"We're going to construct a new building but try to keep the character of the place and make it much more efficient," he said. "It's going to be a year-round permanent market place.

Along with getting access to fresh food year-round the building will have a full kitchen, which could be rented out or used for cooking classes. He said there are even thoughts of possibly making a farm-to-table restaurant part of the project.

Mann added that the marketplace would also fulfill a need for those in that live downtown or in the surrounding downtown area that have limited access to fresh fruits and produce.

"People can walk to this place and learn how to cook fresh food," he said. "It's going to be a place hopping with activity. It's going to be a real destination in downtown Sanford."

Kelli Laudate, executive director of Downtown Sanford Inc., agrees.

"Food always brings people together," she said.