Residents of Anacostia struggle to access fresh and affordable food

By Faith Starchia

The total number of full grocery stores in the district increased from 76 to 80 in 2025, with only one being placed in Ward 8, according to a report released by D.C. Hunger Solutions. Between Wards 7 and 8, where half of the district’s food deserts lie, there are seven grocery stores in total.

Calvin Conway, who lived in the Anacostia area for 14 years, said their neighborhood does not get the best selection of food and fresh produce is especially hard to find.

“It [produce] says it’s fresh. But you can tell it’s been frozen before,” Conway said. “It doesn’t look that great. And it doesn’t hold up that long in the refrigerator.”

The scarcity of retail grocery stores in low-income neighborhoods leave local residents to rely on corner stores and bodegas to shop for groceries, according to USDA SNAP-Ed Connection. Corner stores, like King Street Convenient Store, allow for locals to shop for their food at lower prices.

Maradait Jackson, a resident of southeast DC, travels to Virginia to do her grocery shopping.

“If I want to eat healthy, I’m gonna find it,” Jackson said.

Jackson arrived at King Convenient Store to buy her “junk food,” for the day, and said she normally has someone drive her to do her grocery shopping twice a week.

Jemil Issa, a worker at King Convenient Store in Anacostia, alongside his brother, said the most popular items sold in store are canned foods, sodas and groceries, similar to larger grocery stores.

“The store is convenient and prices are fair,” Issa said. “The customer has to be happy and they’ll tell you if they aren’t.”

Affordability is one of the issues in generating full service grocery stores in food deserts. Inflation continues to increase the prices of groceries, with the cost of meat, poultry, fish, and eggs rising 6.5%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index.

Conway noticed this change when shopping for groceries and producing basic dinner meals.

“You used to be able to make spaghetti for ten dollars. Now the meat itself is ten dollars,” Conway said. “Oodles and noodles used to be the cheapest thing you could get. Three or four packs for a dollar, now they want seventy-five cents for a pack. They make it pretty hard for us.”

In order to reach consumers and retailers in low-income neighborhoods in the district, programs like DC Central Kitchen have initiatives to deliver fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables to stores in these areas. The program supplies products at a volume discount price and in smaller quantities, according to the DC Hunger Solutions report. Resources like these, from large agencies that can provide, make accessing food more affordable for store owners and consumers.

In September 2025, Dreaming Out Loud, a nonprofit designed to create economic opportunities for marginalized communities, opened Marion Berry Avenue Market. The organization works by building community-based food systems in Wards 7 and 8.

Maiya Ennis, the Market’s culinary production manager, said the community aspect is what made her want to work at Marion Berry Avenue Market, and everyday looks different.

“[We are] able to provide fresh fruit and vegetables outside of a normal corner store that has snacks and drinks,” Ennis said. “ I think people being able to have access to fresh, local food is really important.”

She mentioned the lack of grocery stores within Ward 8, which creates a greater need for stores like the Marion Berry Avenue Market. Especially for those who deal with deal issues and cannot travel far distances to access fruit and vegetables.

“People are also dealing with high cholesterol, diabetes, and all sorts of different diseases and things like that. So the food that you eat is gonna fuel you and can help heal you,” Ennis said.