A grocery store is taking shape in downtown Hagerstown, where Horizon Goodwill Industries is transforming a stretch near Prospect and Church streets into a hub for fresh food, healthcare, and job training. The nonprofit says it now has roughly 75 percent of the $4.5 million needed to complete the project.
The new store, known as Horizon Market, is being built inside Horizon Goodwill's Mission Services facility at 200 N. Prospect Street in the historic Jonathan Street neighborhood. As reported by DC News Now, the store will span more than 8,000 square feet and serve a neighborhood that has long lacked convenient access to fresh groceries.
David Shuster, president and CEO of Horizon Goodwill, described the effort simply as a nonprofit grocery store, per the DC News Now report. Nick Kline, also quoted in that coverage, said community support has helped push the project toward the finish line. The station's report notes that Horizon Goodwill will provide jobs at the new store, folding retail employment directly into its broader workforce mission.
A Neighborhood Flagged as a Top Food Priority
Addressing a Food-Access Gap DC News Now's reporting describes the Prospect and Church streets area as a food desert.
Horizon Market builds on an earlier, smaller experiment. In April 2024, Horizon Goodwill opened a 1,630-square-foot pilot convenience store called the Horizon Corner Store at 8 Walnut Street, a $45,000 investment made in partnership with the Hagerstown Housing Authority, according to the City of Hagerstown.
Layers of State and Institutional Funding
The project has drawn support from multiple state programs over the past two years.
Health Clinics and Youth Programs Round Out the Vision
Beyond groceries, DC News Now reports that Horizon Goodwill is setting up medical and dental clinics near the new store and launching a youth development initiative combining workforce training with recreational programs. Shuster told the outlet the new grocery store will include access to healthcare and dental services along with adolescent and summer youth after-school programs.
That healthcare component is planned as the Hagerstown Health Hub, a primary-care office co-located with the grocery store and supported by a $925,000, two-year grant from the Maryland Community Health Resources Commission. The project will establish the office in partnership with Meritus Health, which will provide a nurse practitioner, while Horizon Goodwill will provide case management, according to Horizon Goodwill Industries.
A Broader Workforce Mission
Horizon Market is designed to do more than sell produce. DC News Now reported that jobs at the store would be part of Horizon Goodwill's broader workforce mission.
Horizon Goodwill is headquartered in Hagerstown and is developing Horizon Market.
Taken together, the Horizon Market project reflects a multi-year, multi-agency effort layering state revitalization grants, health commission funding, higher education support, and hospital partnerships into a single social enterprise combining grocery retail, clinical care, and job placement. With roughly three-quarters of the $4.5 million goal secured, the remaining question for Horizon Goodwill and similar nonprofit models is longer-term: how customer traffic, SNAP and EBT redemptions, and follow-on grant funding will sustain daily grocery margins once the initial capital grants are spent.
