City of Jackson to repurpose vacant spaces to combat food insecurity

JACKSON, Mich. (WILX) - A historic building that once housed Jackson’s first state prison will be transformed into a year-round farmers’ market.

The project aims to tackle Jackson’s food access problems, as many grocery stores that residents rely on are located outside city limits.

“We have significant childhood poverty throughout the community, throughout the county,” said Grow Jackson CEO Jacob Inosencio. “So that means a lot of our kids are going to bed hungry. That means a lot of our families are food insecure.”

Grow Jackson , a local nonprofit, is partnering with the city to convert the landmark into a farm stop that will sell locally sourced products from Michigan farmers.

The new market will provide space for up to 40 small businesses and farmers and will accept SNAP benefits a