Kayla Jack of Saxonburg misses the Saxonburg Friedman's Freshmarket grocery store across from her apartment building. Since the store closed in January, Jack must pack up her three children and drive to Butler Commons to access a grocery store.

While the summer landscape in Butler County is lush and green, the people of two boroughs are finding themselves in a desert.

A “food desert,” according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s website, is an area where residents are more than 10 miles from a full-service grocery store in rural areas and one mile in large cities.

Consumers in food deserts largely rely on packaged, processed and convenience foods instead of fresh foods.

Since Friedman’s Freshmarkets closed its last three stores in January, folks in and around Saxonburg and Chicora are wanting for meat, produce and other items not sold by their local stores.

Kayla Jack lives in an apartment complex directly across the street from the Saxonburg Friedman’s, but now must pack up her three young children and make a trip to Butler for her groceries.

“I liked it because it was convenient and close,” Jack said. “Now that it’s closed, it’s terrible.”

Perhaps worse off than those in Saxonburg are the residents of Chicora and its surrounding neighborhoods.

Karen Allen has lived in Chicora for more than 50 years, and always did her shopping at Friedman’s.

“This is a great inconvenience,” Allen said. “We so enjoyed our local grocery store and seeing our friends and neighbors.”

Like her neighbors, Allen hopes another grocery store moves in quickly.

Read what other residents had to say in Sunday’s Butler Eagle.