Truman Medical Centers, a two-hospital system based Kansas City, Mo., is set to embark on an innovative community project to offer healthy food options, as it looks to open its own grocery store with a local partner.
TMC and the Hospital Hill Economic Development Corporation, a local organization focused on urban economic development, completed a transfer of land from the City of Kansas City where they will build the $11.5 million, 35,000-square-foot grocery store.
TMC's grocery store will offer produce, meats and dairy items, as well as ethnic foods, from an array of local businesses, urban farmers and community gardens. Hospital executives said the project is one step toward eliminating food deserts and combating obesity and chronic diseases.
"An inherent focus of the grocery store project will be to positively impact the incidences of diabetes, hypertension, congestive heart failure and obesity within its service community," John Bluford, TMC president and CEO, said in a news release. "TMC has worked to expand access to high-quality healthcare, and now through the HHEDC, we will expand access to a healthy eating lifestyle for people."
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