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Everyone wants a grocery store in Cumberland County. A few more businesses would also be welcomed, as a way to drive down the tax rate. But what’s the plan? How do you recruit companies to come here? That’s the focus of the economic development plan being worked on by Cumberland’s Economic Development Authority (EDA).

Back in January, we outlined how the county received multiple grants from the Tobacco Commission and the Governor’s Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development Fund, totaling a combined $40,000, to help with the project. That work moved forward this week, with the first of what will likely be several discussions of how to develop the economic development plan, as the EDA has been tasked with some specific requirements. Cumberland supervisors have ordered that the focus be on companies and concepts that keep the county rural, rather than try and turn it urban. 

“(The plan) will seek to identify strategies to improve economic development opportunities in the county, but also do it in a way that maintains the rural character of the county,” Cumberland County Administrator Derek Stamey told the audience at the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, March 11. 

The goal of the plan is to look at logistics, transportation, processing and identifying gaps of service, places where Cumberland could recruit new businesses to fill the void. Data collection has been going on since before January, when the county received grants to help pay for the studies needed. 

Basically, what makes sense in Cumberland? Beyond farms, what about production? Marketing? What other areas of agriculture make sense to recruit to specific areas of the county? Or possibly there are some already here. What’s the best way to help them grow and develop? And yes, as part of this project, the plan will look at alternative models to traditional grocery stores by making use of local agricultural resources. 

Fixing the Cumberland food desert 

Part of this also involves diving into the local food economy. Cumberland County is identified as a food desert, meaning that residents have limited access to healthy food options. That’s accurate, as a foodbanks.org map shows 13%-17 of residents labeled as “food insecure.” Now, to be clear, food insecurity doesn’t mean no options exist. It does however mean there are obstacles in the way. After all, it’s hard to plan on a weekly grocery run if you have no vehicle and no one to give you a ride. At that point, you just take what you can get. It’s also harder to eat healthy when there’s no grocery store in the county. 

Residents in the center of the county have the farthest to travel, in order to get food. Most travel to Powhatan, Buckingham, Goochland, or Farmville to get groceries or they pick them up on their way home from work. Over the last couple of years, the arrival of a Dollar General Market and Pine View Bulk Foods have helped some, but there are still challenges. If you live in the Cartersville or Columbia area, for example, you wouldn’t often make the trip to Pine View, as it’s close to Farmville. 

So how do you address that? The plan calls for an evaluation of existing growers and producers in the county. What does each one produce? Are they producing the same thing? How close are they to their given market and how could value be added to each operation? 

Another part of this involves identifying grocery stores and what each one would need, in order to consider coming to Cumberland. We will be doing a detailed breakdown later this month to answer that question, talking with multiple grocery store chains.
Companies have questions before they agree to move into an area. They look at the population size, population ages and available locations for a store. Then they determine if it makes financial sense to move in. So what would a grocery store need in order to move in and can the county help with that in any way? 

Help with the Farmers Market 

Part of the growth will come in the form of upgrades to the farmers market at the Luther P. Jackson Community Center. In February, Cumberland County received $32,678 in grant funding from the state to upgrade the property. 

The building is under review to establish historic designation, and needs flooring protection, electrical improvements, new lights, new doors, and new signs, with the goal of helping draw in more customers. These improvements will assist with the expansion of food and grocery products in a county with, as we’ve mentioned, limited food options. 

Stamey pointed out that county staff has done everything possible to try and get funding for economic development projects like this. 

“We applied for well over $2 million in grants, but we’ve been approved for $750,000 thus far, over a myriad of different areas of focus in the county whether that’s economic development, community development, parks and recreation, and public safety,” Stamey told the audience on March 11. “We’re anticipating some more awards in the future. Every day we’re striving to achieve more grant money for the county.”