"Please don't take this store away from our people"

In less than a month, the Edmondson Village community will lose its only supermarket, Giant.

The loss will have a direct impact on many of the people in the area whose only form of transportation is walking.

"There's a lot of people that come here that are not familiar with any other place. So, we're [going to] have to figure something else out," says Steve who lives in Edmondson Village.

It takes Steve 10 minutes to walk four blocks from his home to Giant. He was sad to learn about the store's closing.

After Giant announced it is closing this location on June 13, WMAR-2 News reached out to District Eight Councilman Kristerfer Burnett.

He provided a statement acknowledging this closing will impact a community that already lacks adequate access to fresh foods and healthy produce.

"Please don't take this store away from our people. We need it. We really need it," says Ronnise Laws, a frequent shopper at Giant.

"I'm appalled because what is the community going to do for people who don't drive and walk to get food?" asked Laws.

Councilman Burnett says he's had many conversations with Giant over the years about the need to improve the store and quality of offerings for customers. Saying: "Meetings were also held with leadership from Baltimore Development Corporation to try and encourage Giant Foods to take advantage of available tax incentives to redevelop their Edmondson Square location."

Instead, it decided to invest in the newly renovated Giant Foods market on Wilkens Avenue, nearly three miles away.

"We're all elderly people and disabled people. So we'll have to catch a ride to a further place. This was the closest. It was," says Steve.

Feet away from the closing Giant is the Edmondson Village Shopping Center, which is undergoing renovations.

Many wonder if a supermarket is coming there instead.

Burnett says: "I immediately reached out to the new ownership team of the Edmondson Village Shopping Center to discuss the possibility of opening a grocery store at this location. They're very supportive of the idea, and it's my hope that this can come to fruition."

"I hope they replace the market with something worthwhile coming to. I hope it's a place that we can afford to shop at," says Laws.

Burnett says he will continue to advocate to close the gap in access to healthy foods for his constituents.