from “le détroit” · the strait
The city-backed program is seeding neighborhood stores with grants up to $25,000, with 18 locations now in its network and applications expected to reopen.
Detroit's Green Grocer Program is back, and it has already started putting money into the hands of store owners who are adding fresh food to neighborhoods that have gone without.
The first awardee under the relaunched program was Kandies Mini Mart in the Dexter-Linwood neighborhood. Owner Jacquisha Blackwell used a $25,000 grant to buy refrigeration and shelving and to upgrade the store's electrical system, expanding the grocery side of her operation inside the Durfee Innovation Society at 2470 Collingwood St. The Detroit Economic Growth Corporation marked the milestone with a ribbon cutting on February 18, 2026. A second store, Micah's Market on Fenkell Avenue in the Crary/St. Marys neighborhood, followed with its own $25,000 grant.
The DEGC runs the program in partnership with the city, offering cash grants of up to $25,000 per store. A third round of applications ran from January 15 to March 15, 2026, with submissions reviewed on a rolling basis. As of spring 2026, the program backs 18 small-format stores across Detroit.
The reason for the program's return is plain. The city says roughly 69 percent of Detroit residents experience food insecurity. Between 2017 and 2022, Detroit lost 10 full-line grocery stores, leaving 64 and pushing many residents toward corner stores and dollar stores that stock snacks rather than staples.
The Green Grocer Program first launched in 2010 and ran through 2017, supporting independent grocers through grants, loans, technical assistance, and tax incentives. That first phase helped create jobs and drew more than $50 million in investment across the grocery sector before the program paused. The DEGC relaunched it in 2024.
The current version funds three store formats: small specialty stores between 1,500 and 5,000 square feet that make fresh food at least 15 percent of their selling space, mixed-market community stores from 3,000 to 15,000 square feet, and new construction over 10,000 square feet. Grant money can go toward equipment, technology, inventory, and buildout. To qualify, a business must be a registered for-profit entity in good standing with the state and city, with a Detroit address.
DEGC President and CEO Kevin Johnson framed the goal in neighborhood terms. "When we assist local entrepreneurs in opening grocery stores right in the neighborhoods they know best, it empowers residents to meet essential needs," he said.
The program has committed to assisting at least eight small grocery stores over two years, with loans to four more stores planned through federal block grant financing. Eighteen stores will not close the gap on its own. It does mark a return to an approach that worked here before, with funding and a clear target behind it.
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