The Salvation Army has opened its first-ever supermarket in Baltimore, Maryland. The 7,000-square-foot space provides everything you would expect at a supermarket—with substantial savings up to $3 cheaper than at the nearest chain grocery. The store is called DMG Foods and is a nonprofit supermarket in the country in East Baltimore.
Salvation Army Provides Access to Healthy Food
While the store caters to those who receive the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Maj. Gene Hogg, the Salvation Army’s central Maryland commander, says the store is open to anyone.
Major Hogg told NPR: “Our business is not really selling food,” he says. “What we’re in the business of doing is helping and loving people. And the qualifications to shop here is to walk in the door.”
According to a study by Johns Hopkins, the median household income in Baltimore is at or below 185 percent of the Federal Poverty Level ($25,100 for a household of four). And because most local stores are corner stores without healthy produce and 30 percent of households in Baltimore have no vehicle available, healthy food priority areas are not always available.
So The Salvation Army has stepped up with this supermarket to make healthy food more accessible. According to the store’s website, these are the top reasons to shop at DMG Foods:
- Our Red Shield Club loyalty program provides special offers and discounts.
- Our store offers a range of services and supplemental benefits so that all customers may enjoy savings and an affordable, community shopping experience.
- We offer a workforce development program that teaches retail soft skills and provides hands-on grocery apprenticeship.
- Through our partnership with the Maryland Food Bank, we offer daily meal solutions and cooking demonstrations for our customers.
“The Salvation Army’s DMG Foods is a nonprofit grocery store in northeast Baltimore, designed to provide healthy and affordable food for all members of the community. DMG Foods is the first grocery store in the nation to combine social service with a traditional grocery shopping experience. Our social services include nutritional guidance, shopping education, workforce development and meal planning.”
The Salvation Army has always taken seriously Jesus’ command for outreach to feed the hungry:
“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” (Matthew 25:35-40)
DMG Foods’ slogan lines up with The Salvation Army’s slogan: Doing the Most Good. The store’s slogan: Good for the Community. Good for Your Family. Good for You!
