JACKSON COUNTY, Fla. (WTXL) — Tuesday was a step in the right direction for the town of Greenwood, in Florida's big bend.
Leaders and neighbors gathered to discuss getting a small business loan to rebuild the town's only grocery store that was destroyed in a fire six months ago.
"My step mom has been here since she was 15. I came with her when I was 12. This is home. This is my home away from home," said Tiffany Money, Greenwood supermarket manager.
A home lost in the devastation a fire left behind.
Tiffany Money runs the Greenwood supermarket with her family. She never imagined saying goodbye.
"When we got the call that night it was devastating. I left here ready to come back to work the next day, and it was gone," said Money
Fire destroyed the business just one month after Hurricane Michael hit the Panhandle.
Neighbors are frustrated that they can't get food from the town's only grocery store.
"It used to be we were able to walk to our grocery store here. We don't have a place to do that anymore and we want this place to be rebuilt so that this community has a grocery store. The majority of our people are elderly or low income. And they don't always have the ability to jump in a car and drive 15 miles to Marianna," James Swafford.
That's why Money wants to get this store up and running.
This family owned supermarket has been a community staple in Greenwood for the past 25 years. And Money tells WTXL, it will cost her family $800,000 to rebuild from the ground up.
And at Tuesday's town hall neighbors and leaders working together to figure out which state grants the town can apply for to help get a community business loan for the market.
"We're not looking for a huge handout. We're hoping to apply for a community development grant," Money
Money says anything will help to get this community staple up and running again.
Greenwood town leaders say the next step, researching available state grants they can apply for, to get some money to reopen this family-owned store.
They plan to discuss this again with the community once they learn more.
