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Grocery stores and health care facilities aren’t typically considered a likely duo, but Jae Scott thinks they make a good match.
“The final outcome is to give the community something they don’t have,” says Scott, store director at The Market at 25th, set to open March 28. It will be the cornerstone of a 5,600-square-foot development at the intersection of Nine Mile Road and North 25th Street.
Here, East End residents will have access to educational programs, apartments, a culinary school, restaurants, a credit union and the VCU Health Hub, which will provide screenings and preventive health care services.
“VCU just was the right choice,” Scott says. “They were interested in bringing something to the neighborhood that it didn’t already have. It’s all about healthier choices.”
Community members can shop for healthy, locally grown produce and groceries at The Market. When they’re done, they can get a prescription filled at the Health Hub and schedule a time to learn how to prepare foods in a healthy way.
“In my eyes, it’s the perfect synergy for what we’re trying to do,” Scott says.
More than 20 VCU programs have committed to join the project, according to Natalie Pennywell, who will oversee the health and wellness program at VCU’s Health Hub at 25th. “We’re working closely to see what can we do to complement each other and take advantage of what the others offer,” she says.
