Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, Inc. (ABLE) is a non-profit regional law firm that provides high quality legal assistance in civil matters to help eligible low-income individuals and groups in western Ohio achieve self reliance, and equal justice and economic opportunity.
Gem City Market is providing a community-driven and sustainable solution to food insecurity in a Northwest Dayton community.
Gem City Market (GCM) is a ray of hope and identity in a community affected by decades of disinvestment.
ABLE provided legal assistance when community members identified a need to fill the void left by major grocery chains closing their doors in Northwest Dayton. The result was a community and worker-owned cooperative grocery store and deli that will provide fresh food and neighborhood jobs.
Now with more than 2,000 community members, the cooperative plans to employ between 20 and 25 people who can become worker-owners of the market.
Gem City Market will serve a trade area of approximately 22,000 individuals. The median income in the trade area is lower than that of the city of Dayton and has a higher minority population than the city as a whole.
ABLE’s transformative relationships developed through this work also parlayed into legal support to Co-op Dayton as community members develop a network of local cooperative businesses (worker- or community-owned), growing the economy, and creating wealth from the ground up.