Construction Begins On New Tulsa Grocery Store Located In 'Food Desert'

The Tulsa Economic Development Corporation will break ground on Oasis Fresh Market, a long-awaited grocery store in Tulsa near Peoria and Reading Friday morning.

The grocery store will be built in an area known as a "food desert," an area where it's difficult for residents to buy affordable or fresh food.

The $3.9 million store will be roughly 16,500 square feet when complete and will greatly increase access for residents to buy higher quality food.

In addition to groceries, the store will feature a demonstration kitchen where people can go to learn how to make healthy meals. 

Tulsa City Councilor Vanessa Hall Harper, who represents District 1 where the new grocery store will be built, says having a quality store in her district has been a four-year journey. "This has been long overdue for my community."

Tulsa Economic Development Corporation CEO Rose Washington says they're working to solve the food desert issue one community at a time. "When you look at the population of District 1, 93% of all residents live in a food desert, compared to all of Tulsa, which reflects that 19% of the population live in a food desert." 

Construction on Oasis Fresh Market is expected to be complete in Spring 2021.

Funding for the grocery store is coming from the City of Tulsa, Tulsa Development Authority, George Kaiser Family Foundation, Charles & Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, and Zarrow Family Foundation.