For generations, getting groceries in Birmingham’s Fountain Heights neighborhood has meant traveling outside the community to find fresh food.
That could soon change.
Fountain Heights Farms Cooperative will open the We All Eat Market on Saturday, Nov. 7, bringing a neighborhood grocery store to Fountain Heights for the first time in nearly 70 years.
The market will operate inside the cooperative’s new Heart of the Farm facility at 1201 16th St. N. A public grand opening celebration and ribbon cutting are scheduled for 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Cooperative co-founders Christopher Gooden and Dominique Villanueva said they hope having a grocery store within walking distance will ease a burden on residents.
“We’ve seen elders carry their groceries from bus stop to bus stop until they get home,” Gooden said.
But the market represents more than a place to buy groceries. It is part of a larger effort to make fresh food more accessible while giving neighborhood residents a stake in the local food system.
From neighborhood gardens to a grocery store
Fountain Heights Farms Cooperative began in 2016 with a vision of building a more sustainable local food system.
What started with neighborhood gardens has grown into a network of 16 farm plots, with a goal of expanding to 119 plots by 2030.
The cooperative works to connect local farmers, food producers and consumers while creating opportunities for people in the community to participate in the business.
Its new Heart of the Farm facility brings several pieces of that vision together, including the grocery and a community kitchen.
We All Eat Market will offer Alabama-grown produce, meat, eggs and everyday grocery staples.
The cooperative also plans to transition its community supported agriculture program, commonly known as a CSA, into a delivery service called We All Eat Delivery.
The goal is to give customers more ways to purchase locally-sourced food while helping small farmers and food entrepreneurs reach a broader customer base.
Villanueva said the cooperative wants to strike a balance between offering food people can afford and "food that nourishes our community and builds our health."
Making fresh food more affordable
Affordability remains a central part of the cooperative’s mission.
The market will accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, commonly known as SNAP or EBT. It will also participate in Auburn University’s Double Up Bucks program, which provides eligible customers a 50% discount on certain produce.
That is important for a cooperative trying to make fresh, locally-sourced food accessible to households that might opt for less expensive options at larger grocery retailers.
Those stores have buying power that allows them to negotiate prices and sell products at costs that smaller, independent businesses may struggle to match.
Besides keeping prices affordable, We All Eat Market will work to pay local farmers and producers fairly while keeping the operation financially sustainable.
The cooperative has also faced the practical challenges of establishing a new food business, including navigating permits, ordinances and rules that are designed more for traditional retailers than an urban farm. For instance, urban farms can't cut and sell meat on site.
Building community wealth and ownership
The market's development has relied heavily on community support.
In 2021, organizers raised $30,000 through grassroots fundraising, with contributions coming in small amounts, to start the process of developing a grocery store.
That early investment helped demonstrate the neighborhood’s interest in the project and its willingness to support a different approach to food access.
The city of Birmingham also gave $150,000 to to support the project.
But beyond opening a grocery store, Villanueva said the cooperative wants to create opportunities for neighborhood residents to participate in ownership and share in the economic benefits of the food system.
The cooperative currently has three market employees and five farm workers, with the potential for additional opportunities as its operations grow.
A new chapter for Fountain Heights
The opening of We All Eat Market marks a significant milestone for a neighborhood that has gone decades without its own grocery store.
There's providing closer food access, but organizers hope the store can become a place where neighbors connect, local producers find customers and more of the money spent on groceries stays within the community. That would make the neighborhood less dependent on outside businesses to meet its everyday needs.
"I think that it means a lot to live in a neighborhood where you can walk to your grocery store," Villanueva said. "I think people are really excited."
