GraceMed Health and Central Topeka Grocery Oasis Group at the signing of the Ground Lease Agreement on March 16, 2023. CTGO is working to build a new grocery store immediately north of the clinic on the vacant lot at the corner of 12th and Washburn. Pictured are Venus Lee CEO of GraceMed and Board Members along with Marge Ahrens, Clark Trammell, ShaMecha Sims, James Munson, Ann Marshall, Timothy Leffert, and Michael Bell, additional CTGO members are; Janet Cathcart, Pastor Harry Christian, Marc Galbraith, and Mary Thomas.
An agreement has been signed for GraceMed Capitol Health Clinic to lease one acre of land at 12th and Washburn streets north of GraceMed’s clinic to the Central Topeka Grocery Oasis (CTGO) Group as a building site to restore a grocery to residents of Central Topeka. The formal lease signing was at 10:30 a.m., Thursday, March 16, 2023 at the GraceMed clinic, 1400 S.W. Huntoon.
"Our grassroots efforts for a grocery have gathered hardworking partners in the city, county and state focused on equity, justice and health for our neighbors,” said Marge Ahrens, CTGO chair. “We are grateful to GraceMed Health, and all who share in our celebration of the ability to build a community store on this excellent Central Topeka site. We will need many hands and hearts to fulfill this mission.”
Venus Lee, GraceMed CEO, said GraceMed is excited to finalize the partnership. “Our goal has always been to impact the communities we serve positively,” she said. “For many years this neighborhood has been a food desert, without access to nutritious food, which is needed to achieve optimal health. For this reason, it has been vital for us to support CTGO in its quest to be an answer to this problem. GraceMed is excited to finalize this partnership, which will be a critical step in healing the community. We pray that as this partnership grows, we will be able to develop a food voucher program for our patients, allowing them to embrace healthier eating habits. We strongly believe a grocery store in this neighborhood will significantly improve the lives of those here. I sincerely thank CTGO for their continued dedication to this shared vision.”
The grocery is intended to be a meeting place for residents and provide healthy food as well as needed banking, postal and utility payment services, all within walking distance for many. Employees of nearby businesses, hospitals, churches, schools, Washburn University, and workers in transit also would be served.