WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – Addressing a food dessert. A new store opened in southern Wichita this week. KSN News spoke to the store manager at this location who says she is thrilled to know that they are helping to meet a need in the community.
Managing Director at El Mercado Fresco supermarket, Krissia Hernández said so far it has been a real pleasure to help the minority community in Wichita. She says that for the past two months, residents who live in southern Wichita have had to commute to shop. But now that’s another story.
“They can find fresh produce; we have a bakery, we have a taqueria, everything is fresh, ”said Hernández.
A few months ago, the southern Wichita community found itself with very few options for fresh produce. When the Save A Lot store closed its South Broadway store, it changed the lives of many Wichitans.
“We are here because we know there are a lot of Hispanics in our community here,” added Hernández.
Hernández says that once their franchise owner in Kansas City, Missouri heard about the unfortunate situation in Wichita, they decided to take action.
“This company is from Missouri. We have 5 stores in Missouri, and this is the 6th, ”Hernández said.
She says the goal of El Mercado Fresco supermarket is to help eliminate the number of food insecure residents. And make it affordable enough for families to buy a significant amount of products for their loved ones.
“There are a lot of promotions, there are low prices,” store employee Joseph Morales said. “They don’t have to waste that much money, they can get very fresh fruit, meat, basically all fresh. It’s nice.”
El Mercado Fresco officially opened on Wednesday and so far Hernández says he has been extremely busy from opening to closing.
“Most of the comments I’ve heard are that there are a lot of things people haven’t seen here,” Morales said.
“Products from Central America, products from Mexico and products from Asia. We have everything for everyone, ”added Hernández.
The franchise hopes to open a second location on the south side of Wichita to help solve part of the food desert problem.
If you would like to be part of the El Mercado Fresco team, you can call this number to arrange an interview
316-796-5059. The supermarket is currently looking for several employees.