Butler is a food desert no more thanks to DG Market
Something really special happened on South Main Street in Butler Saturday morning.
A DG Market — offering fresh produce, meat and an expanded grocery section — opened its doors, ending the City of Butler’s days as a total food desert.
That is not a small thing these days.
In January, the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, which serves Butler County, said, “hunger doesn’t exist in isolation — it’s woven into a complex web of poverty, policy and systemic inequities. With prices remaining at extreme inflated levels, thousands of our neighbors are struggling and need help to make ends meet. In fact, nearly half of the population nationwide is just a $400 emergency away from needing help with food.”
The major impacts of living in a food desert tend to affect the most vulnerable among us, including those who do not have personal transportation, those who are living at the lower end of the socioeconomic divide and those with mobility issues. If you’re not able to drive yourself to a large grocer, if your income precludes you from paying for public transportation in addition to paying for groceries or if physical limitations impact your ability to make a shopping trip, living in a town with no fresh food options can greatly impact your health.
The new DG Market is located in the former Rite Aid building at 139 S. Main St., which solves two issues in the city at once by filling a vacant storefront and helping to fix a complex issue.
“This changes a lot. We’re not a complete food desert now,” Mayor Bob Dandoy said.
Elderly residents who live in nearby high-rises will have significantly closer access to fresh food and, as Dandoy said, it will help residents who have trouble accessing transportation to larger stores.
In May 2024, a report from Feeding America showed a surge in food insecurity in the Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank’s 11-county service area: Allegheny, Armstrong, Butler, Beaver, Cambria, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, Somerset and Washington. Overall, it showed that 1 in 8 people face food insecurity, a 25% increase over the previous year, and 1 in 6 children face food insecurity, representing a 33% increase over the previous year.
Using the most recent data it has, from 2023, Feeding America says 11.4% of Butler County residents — or 22,400 people — face food insecurity.
Bringing a DG Market to the City of Butler is a great move to help bridge the gap for residents.
— KL
