The owner of Luna’s Groceries plans to tackle another food desert in Dane County.
Before Mariam Maldonado opened Luna’s Groceries in 2019, the Allied Drive neighborhood of Madison’s South Side was a food desert for almost 10 years. Maldonado lives in that neighborhood. She said the nearest grocery store was four miles from her house.
“What made it difficult is our neighborhood is isolated by highways,” Maldonado said. “In order to go to the store, you had to get into your car. There was nothing within walking distance.”
While planning Luna’s second location, Maldonado is keeping the store’s mission “to integrate location, food and community through a grocery store” in mind.
Maldonado had the opportunity to make Luna’s bigger but declined, feeling it would take away from the store’s connection to the community.
“My vision for Luna’s is to be in a place that we can replicate and be aware of who's around us, what type of families come to the store,” Maldonado said. “We just didn’t see that happening in a big grocery store.”
Maldonado tries to make the foods Luna’s offers reflect the community in Allied Drive.
“My neighborhood is mostly Hispanic. When you come to the store, everything that you're going to see almost represents the countries that live in my neighborhood,” Maldonado said.
Maldonado plans to continue this approach and tailor the new grocery store to the surrounding community. Maldonado is collecting data to help pick a new location with the goal of serving another food desert in the Dane County area.
Luna's Groceries is located at 2010 Red Arrow Trail in Madison.
