Empowering southern Colorado with fresh produce and food knowledge

(SECURITY-WIDEFIELD, Colo.) — Amidst the temptation of fast-food chains, a new neighborhood grocery store in southern Colorado aims to prioritize proper nutrition and deliver farm-fresh produce.

Fueling one’s body properly has been the mission of Elena Salinas, who hopes to bridge the gap between fresh food access in food deserts. She began this journey by running a mobile grocery store and sourcing fresh produce from local vendors.

“Starting off as a mobile grocery store and making sure I was popping up in parks and schools and community centers and making those connections with different neighborhoods and just seeing that this is where we needed to stay and be, we weren’t going to go anywhere else.”

In November, Salinas turned her vision into a storefron opening up A Fresh Move Neighborhood Grocery Store becoming one of the few options available in the area for groceries. Currently, when looking on the map for grocery stores in Security-Widefield there are limited options with a Walmart Supercenter, Dollar General, and Safeway.

“We are in Security-Widefield, and this is actually a food desert here in southern Colorado Springs, one of the major food deserts,” Salinas said. “So it was really important that we put a fresh food grocery store in a neighborhood that really needs it.”

The store is located at 358 Main Street, Colorado Springs, Colorado, and is open Tuesday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. On their website, are details on produce along with upcoming events.

Just like any grocery store, there is everything from pantry staples like oils and pasta to refrigerated goods offering a wide variety of cheeses and meats. In working to provide customers with the best items, Salinas explained the process of sourcing these goods.

“Our cheese comes all the way from the western slopes, and I’m very proud of it because it’s been such a challenge to bring food from over there,” Salinas explained. “We have great farms over there that have produce and cheese and dairy. So we knew that it was going to be a challenge and we said we weren’t going to give up and we were going to make sure that this food can make it to this part of Colorado and into our city.”

When shopping customers can read different signs that indicate the nutritional value of different grocery items along with where the produce comes from highlighting the different farms and ranches throughout southern Colorado.

“Education is a huge piece into bringing fresh food to the community,” Salinas said. “We want people to be educated in where their food is coming from or why we’re eating this food, [or] why we should be accessing this food because we deserve it too and so all those things matter to us here at this store”

The store opened its doors during the holiday season, and now in the new year, Salinas shared more customers are coming in thanks to word of mouth. One customer who stopped in was Quinten Neal who shared how he first learned about this new store in the area.

“I was very fortunate enough to have a friend who told me about the grocery store that was opening,” Neal said. “So I got a chance to go to the grand opening and I’d just been shopping here ever since and I support what she’s doing.”

While selecting specific produce to purchase, Neal conveyed his gratitude for the newfound knowledge this store is giving him about nourishing his body and supporting local farmers.

“Like I didn’t know what was actually grown in Colorado, what type of products they offer and then she actually has like health benefits on the refrigerator, whether it’s like celery or any of the other greens that that they have, so some of them I didn’t know,” said Neal.

In having these signs visible throughout the store, customers like Neal gain knowledge about food accessibility and discover various ways these products can properly nourish the body.

“People walk in here and we talk about real conversations about diseases and loss or just problems accessing food, whether it’s financial, transportation, whatever the case may be,” Salinas said. “We get to have those conversations, so I really feel like I know all the customers in here and we get to get through this together.”

Despite being operated for just a few months, Salinas envisions the store as a stepping stone for addressing deeper community issues in paving the way for increased accessibility and resources to bring about positive change in the future.

“I think it’s really important that people know that it’s not just living in a food desert. The reason why we want to be here, it’s when you look at the statistics and what’s going on in the data, it’s showing that we’re living about 10 [to] 16 years less than somebody that lives up north in like 80922, Briargate,” Salinas said. “That’s because we don’t have not just fresher food options everywhere, but we don’t really have day care or transportation, you know what I mean… so if we can play one part in helping us live further and thrive, you know that much more.”

Whether new or returning customers enter the market, the consistent message persists: aiding individuals in discovering the finest produce and ensuring they are well-informed about optimizing their body’s nutrition.

“It means hope and goodness for the actual area,” said Neal. “So like, I like to be a part of good things that are happening in the area, so health is wealth and so if you eat healthy, you feel good.”

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