Seeing grocery store in danger of extinction, small-town health clinic steps in

Living 30 miles from the larger hubs of Newport, Morrisville, or St. Albans, Richford residents have often had to travel long distances to reach work, groceries and health care. A solution to some of the health access problems arrived in 2002 with the establishment of the Northern Tier Center for Health, or NOTCH, a not-for-profit health center that provides family medicine, behavioral health, a pharmacy, a lab, and dental services.

And in June, after the owner of the town’s only grocery store announced it would be closing, the NOTCH stepped into a new role. Now the leaders of the nonprofit health center are learning about the grocery trade as the NOTCH operates a full-size grocery store, Vista Foods, in its building.