A Corner Store Owner’s View on Food Access

Written by Kelly Chavez

María has been the proud owner of La Suerte Store since 2023, but her connection to the business started long before that. She first worked behind the counter as an employee, sweeping floors, stocking shelves, ringing up purchases, and greeting the families who stopped in daily. It was a job that paid her bills, but more than that it was a window into the lives of her neighbors. Day after day, she came to know what people asked for, what they wished they could buy closer to home, and how much a small store could mean in a community like Pacoima. Parents would stop by after work and complain quietly that it was hard to find affordable fresh food. Seniors sighed about the long bus rides they had to take just to reach a supermarket. Children scanned the aisles for snacks that felt familiar to their culture, but often walked out disappointed. Over time, María realized that the store wasn’t just a place to shop- it was part of Pacoima’s food system, and it reflected the inequities her neighbors faced.

It was during those years as an employee that the dream took hold. She began to imagine herself not just working in the store but owning it. Owning a business would give her independence, but more importantly, it would give her the chance to shape what the store offered. She could provide culturally relevant food, improve the space, and make sure it truly served her community. Achieving that dream took discipline. She saved little by little, often passing on personal wants so she could put money aside. Finally, in 2023, the opportunity came. She bought the store from her employer and renamed it La Suerte – The Good Luck.

The reality she inherited was tough. Pacoima is one of Los Angeles’s oldest neighborhoods, with a vibrant cultural identity and a population that is more than ninety percent Latino. It is also a place that has long been underserved when it comes to food. Large supermarkets are few and far between, which means many families rely on small corner stores for daily shopping. Now more than ever, a neighborhood store represents more than convenience. It represents safety knowing you can walk down the street, buy what you need in one place, and feel secure doing it. For parents trying to feed their children, for elders looking after their health, and for working families stretched thin, that trust is everything. But trust alone does not bring fresh food onto the shelves. Without investment, stores like La Suerte risk becoming little more than outlets for chips, sodas, and shelf-stable products.

By the time María took over, the store’s exterior was worn down. The windows looked dirty and unwelcoming. Inside, the aisles were packed with packaged foods because that was all the store could support. Fresh fruits and vegetables had never been available there. For an owner already struggling to cover expenses, the idea of adding produce felt impossible. Refrigerators are expensive. Electricity bills rise as soon as you plug them in. And fresh items carry the risk of spoilage. One box of unsold tomatoes could wipe out the week’s profit. For María, every month was the same trade-off: use her limited funds to restock what she knew would sell, or gamble on improvements she couldn’t afford to lose. Like so many small business owners, she wanted to improve but was forced to survive.

That changed in 2024 when La Suerte joined the Healthy Markets LA program. From the beginning, the partnership wasn’t about giving handouts. It was about equipping a determined owner with the tools she needed to make her vision real. The first visible change was the storefront. With support from the program, new window wraps were installed. Bright graphics featuring fruits, vegetables, and other healthy items replaced the faded glass. Neighbors noticed immediately. It no longer looked like a forgotten corner. It looked like a place investing in its customers.

The deeper change came inside. Through Healthy Markets LA’s partnership with the Energy Coalition, María received a new refrigerator designed to handle fresh produce. For the first time in the store’s history, she had the equipment to keep fruits and vegetables cool, safe, and ready to sell. In May 2025, the first deliveries arrived. The cooler hummed to life, stocked with bunches of cilantro, bags of oranges, ripe mangos, tomatoes, and other staples that families in Pacoima had long wanted to see in their neighborhood store. It was a milestone that would have been unthinkable before.

María explains it simply. Most of the time, whatever profit she makes goes straight back into buying more stock. There is never enough left over for big purchases like equipment or renovations. Without the program, she says, the produce cooler, the fresh look, and the ability to highlight EBT acceptance would not have been possible. She puts it plainly: “Without Healthy Markets LA, I could not have brought produce here. I would still be just paying bills and restocking shelves. The program made what I wanted for the community finally possible.”

The impact was immediate. Customers walking in for the first time after the changes noticed the bright displays and cleaner feel. Parents told María they were relieved to finally be able to use their EBT cards to buy fresh fruits and vegetables without leaving the neighborhood. Seniors said it eased their burden not having to ride a bus across town for basic staples. Children pointed excitedly to mangos, bananas, and limes in the cooler, recognizing foods they loved but rarely saw in this store. For families juggling long commutes, tight schedules, and limited income, the difference was life-changing. They could get more of what they needed in one safe, accessible place.

The new look and expanded offerings also built pride. La Suerte no longer felt like “just another small store.” It felt like a neighborhood anchor, a place that reflected the dignity of Pacoima’s residents. People spoke of feeling safer and more welcomed when they shopped there. For María, these reactions were the proof she needed that all the struggle and all the waiting were worth it.

Her story also highlights the difficult reality faced by corner store owners everywhere. Each improvement carries costs and risks. A refrigerator is not just a one-time purchase. It is an ongoing utility bill. Stocking fresh food is not just buying produce; it is learning how to manage shrinkage, merchandise so items sell quickly, price so low-income families can afford them and the store still breaks even. Without support, those risks fall entirely on owners who already walk a financial tightrope. The safer path for many is to avoid improvements altogether and stick with products that always sell.

That is why programs like Healthy Markets LA matter. They don’t replace the hard work or the knowledge of small business owners. They make that knowledge and hard work count. They provide the missing pieces, like refrigeration, exterior improvements, technical support, and vendor connections that allow owners to finally take the leap. In La Suerte’s case, they transformed a store that had never sold fresh produce into one that does, without placing all the risk on an owner who could not afford to fail.

From behind the counter, María now sees her store differently. She notices the dad who adds bananas to his usual purchase. She smiles when teenagers buy ingredients for aguas frescas instead of soda. She checks in with the grandmother who comes back week after week because the cilantro stayed fresh. She watches a mother use her EBT card for fruits and vegetables and feels proud knowing her store is making that possible. These are small, ordinary moments, but they carry weight. They are the daily evidence that Pacoima’s food system can change.

Her perspective is also a reminder to policymakers and funders. If we want to address food deserts, food insecurity, and food system inequities, we need to listen to the voices of small store owners. They understand their communities better than anyone. They know what sells, what doesn’t, and why. They know what their customers ask for, and they know the barriers to providing it. Their voices should guide food access programs and policy decisions, because they are the ones living the realities we want to change.

La Suerte’s story is about more than a single store. It is about how investment in small businesses builds local food infrastructure, strengthens neighborhood trust, and advances food justice. It shows what happens when community voices are centered and supported. One store changes, and an entire neighborhood feels the difference.

María often says that owning La Suerte is not just for her family. It is for Pacoima. It is her way of giving back to the neighborhood that gave her a home, a livelihood, and a future. With the right kind of support, she has been able to move beyond survival and build something that offers dignity, safety, and healthier options for everyone. La Suerte had never carried fresh fruits and vegetables. Now it does. That one change carries years of saving, months of planning, and the faith that if she tried, the community would respond. It also carries a lesson for all of us: if we keep investing in trusted neighborhood stores, more families will find healthy food close to home, and more owners like María will be able to choose improvement over survival.

Her story is both ordinary and extraordinary. Ordinary because it is the story of a small business owner working hard, every day, to keep the lights on. Extraordinary because, with the right investment, it became the story of a store that now offers something new and essential to its community. María sums it up best when she says, “Owning this store is not just for me. It’s for the community. And with the support I’ve received, I can finally give people what they deserve.”

That is what food justice looks like when you see it from behind the counter.