The town of Drew may soon get its first grocery store.
According to District 5 Supervisor Gloria Dickerson she and other community members have put forth a collaborative effort to bring the project to fruition.
They initiated the project a year and a half ago under the administration of former mayor Jeffery Kilpatrick, who said he wrote a letter to officials requesting the Senator R.L. Crook National Guard Armory be donated to the city and as of last Friday it was a done deal. The military donated the building to the city and the group plans to use it to house the store, if the city officials agree.
Dickerson said they have reached out to mayor-elect Harvey Burchfield and the current board of Aldermen to be a part of their community effort.
Kilpatrick has also composed a letter thanking Colonel Paul J. McDonnell and his staff for allowing the military to donate the building to the town. The Drew facility was on a 2016 list of five National Guard sites across the state that was slated for closure.
Dickerson said they will be reaching out to the Kellogg Foundation, through their partnership with Hope Credit Union, to support the project and she is working on a proposal, which is currently in draft form, to be presented to Kellogg.
The Drew collaborative is currently partnering with Hope Credit Union, Delta Housing and others in an effort to get the store operational for the community of 1,731 citizens. (Based on 2016 census)