New STARS bus shelters aim to expand food access

Saginaw Transit Authority Regional Services (STARS) and the Saginaw City Council are hoping to turn Saginaw from a food desert into a food oasis.

“When you’ve got to block out three, four hours for a grocery trip, that’s a non-starter for a lot of people, especially when you can’t carry a whole lot and have to go back multiple times through the week,” said Glenn Steffens, STARS executive director.

STARS is getting $100,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding for bus shelters to be placed at the East Side Soup Kitchen, senior high rises, and income-based housing developments.

This is part of an effort to assist STARS with a grant opportunity to try to bring what they are calling “grocery buses” to the community.