LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS) -- Inside a lot on the corner of 7th and Oak Street is Lee's Produce Stand. Its wares of fresh fruits and vegetables are laid out on tables and in boxes hidden under the shade of a metal canopy.
"We have the apples, the oranges, the tangerines, the grapes, the watermelons, tomatoes, green beans, corn, potatoes, onions," Lee Jones, the owner of the produce stand, said. "As you get older, you try to eat more healthy to stay healthy to live longer."
Jones may be retired, having sold his hardware store that used to be a staple in Old Louisville three years earlier, but that does not mean he has stopped working.
"In the summer months, I got nothing to do, so I didn't want to try and work for anybody else, so I just try to do my own thing," he said.
His latest venture is this produce stand. He’s hoping to solve the food desert that was created when the Kroger on South 2nd Street closed earlier this year, taking with it access to affordable and fresh food in the community.
"Most of us are eating at Family Dollar actually," Debbie Carrier, Jones's second-in-command at the produce stand, said. "There's hardly anything to choose from except for their frozen, you know."
"I think it can be a help," Jones said. "I think it can be something to aid the people that don't have automobiles, don't have cars."
According to Jones, it's not just about providing healthy alternatives. It's also about providing cheaper alternatives for families who would otherwise go to a fast food joint for dinner.
"This is just the most healthy route to go and convenient, and you can go home and make your own coleslaw and all that," Carrier said.
"You try to meet those demands," Jones said. "You try to be there for them."
Lee's Produce is open Monday through Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 617 W. Oak Street. A list of its products and prices can be found on its website leesproduce.us.