WASHINGTON — Stanton Supermarket opened a full-scale produce department in Ward 8 as part of DC Central Kitchen’s Healthy Corners initiative, expanding fresh and frozen options for shoppers in a community with limited grocery choices, Sept. 12, 2025. The redesign swaps a small cooler-and-basket display for a dedicated produce section built to keep more fruits and vegetables cold, visible and in stock.
In a blog post describing the project, DC Central Kitchen said the upgrade is its most ambitious Healthy Corners buildout in 14 years, turning a longtime partner store at 1453 Howard Road SE into a bigger, brighter stop for bananas, greens, apples and other staples at Stanton Supermarket.
What changed inside Stanton Supermarket
The new department features five full-sized refrigerators, two freezers, an upgraded open-air case and additional shelving for fresh, frozen and pre-cut items. Store owner Yonas Haile said, “This new produce section is more than shelves of fruits and vegetables,” calling it an investment in “access, affordability, and healthier choices for families.”
Stanton Supermarket accepts SNAP and is authorized for WIC — benefits that can determine whether fresh produce is even an option. DC Health noted the store’s WIC and SNAP Match status as it highlighted the expanded refrigerated section as part of the city’s Healthy Corner Store Partnership.
Through the Healthy Corners “SNAP Match” incentive, shoppers can earn a $5 coupon toward additional fruits and vegetables with the purchase of a single produce item.
Healthy Corners scales up, one store at a time
Healthy Corners started in 2011 with small, tabletop refrigerators near checkout counters. Today, the program supplies produce to more than 50 participating stores and provides technical assistance, merchandising support and nutrition training, according to DC Central Kitchen’s Healthy Corners overview.
At the ribbon cutting, DC Central Kitchen CEO Mike Curtin said the model works when store owners see the business case: “This was a way to bring business into the stores.” D.C. Council member Christina Henderson said corner-store upgrades matter because building new supermarkets can take years, and “programs like Healthy Corners have been so critical in being able to stand in the gap.”
A grocery gap years in the making
The basic challenge — getting perishable food into small stores without losing money to spoilage — has been part of the Ward 8 conversation for years. A 2015 Atlantic report used Healthy Corners as an example of how refrigeration and wholesale deliveries can help stores sell produce without taking on the same risk alone. That same year, The Christian Science Monitor reported on DC Central Kitchen’s push to share its corner-store playbook beyond the District.
And in 2017, residents and advocates staged a “grocery walk” to call attention to the scarcity of full-service grocery options east of the river, according to Greater Greater Washington.
What comes next
In its 2025 “Minding the Grocery Gap” report, DC Hunger Solutions pointed to Stanton Supermarket as one example of how corner stores can “help close the grocery gap one store at a time,” while noting that expansions still require up-front capital and technical support. For Haile, Stanton Supermarket’s bigger produce wall is the start — and a bet that neighbors will keep buying what the store can now reliably offer.
