By Morgan Bryce
Associate Editor
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey recently awarded Opelika’s Wright’s Market with a $60,000 grant to help extend its online shopping and delivery program for Lee and Russell counties.
Through funding provided by the “Alabama Health Food Financing Act,” Governor Ivey presented Wright’s and six other Alabama businesses/nonprofits with $300,000 in grants to meet the nutritional needs of communities statewide that have limited access to grocery stores.
“Better access to healthy foods in under-served communities will help children develop properly, help senior citizens stay healthy and help reduce long-term healthcare costs for those that opt for this type of diet over eating unhealthy foods,” Governor Ivey said in a press release. “I am pleased to support these projects and encouraged that these grants will expand access to fresh, healthy foods in several communities.”
Wright’s Market Owner Jimmy Wright said the money will help launch a pilot version of an online SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and expand the route and services offered through the store’s Wright2U delivery service, which already delivers throughout the Opelika-Auburn area.
“It was an honor for us to be chosen. This is the initial time that the state has done this, and there’s been a lot of work behind-the-scenes the last few years to make this possible,” Wright said. “This will now allow us to take our delivery service farther into rural parts of the counties, and through our partnerships with East Alabama Medical Center and the Lee-Russell Council of Governments’ Area Agency on Aging, add (healthcare services provided through the delivery program).”
For more information, call 334-749-1333. Wright’s Market is located at 603 Pleasant Drive.