OAKLAND — As communities on the western side of Yalobusha County gathered in Oakland over the past weekend to share their vision for the town of Oakland and the area, the Oakland Area Chamber of Commerce was able to move one item from its “challenges” list to its “strengths” list as new grocery store provider Marquitrice Mangham announced the town’s newest business.
Mangham has had national attention for her work in bringing fresh foods to the small Delta town of Webb in Tallahatchie County. Add Oakland Farmacy, the working name of the community grocery, to the list. In addition to the full-service grocery store, Mangham works to provide local farmers a marketplace where they can sell their crops.
Oakland Farmacy will be located at the corner of Highway 51 and Hickory Street which leads to the downtown area, and Mangham believes the store will be open before Christmas.
She invited the crowd to share with her what they would like to see in the store. In addition to specific foods, suggestions included an open-air section, a community garden which could involve youth, plate lunches, a community bulletin board, a small area for folks to visit and drink coffee, local bakery goods and delivery for older and disabled people.
After many rounds of applause for the new grocery store, the group settled into creating a vision for the future. Led by Chris Hinton of Entergy, the major issues identified fell under the broad topics of effective mass communication strategies to better engage and inform local residents; downtown revitalization and attracting retail and small businesses; housing; tourism and recreation; and blighted properties.
When the plan is finalized, it will be presented for adoption to both the town board and the chamber board. Volunteers will be recruited to serve on committees around each goal. Monthly updates will be presented to each board with a community report at the chamber’s annual Community Christmas Brunch. The plan will be available on the chamber’s website, which is in the works, as well as at Town Hall and other locations.
To join a committee, contact the chamber at oaklandareachamber@gmail.com.
