Fountain Heights Opens We All Eat Market
The community-created grocery store is the first in the Fountain Heights neighborhood in about 70 years.
Updated on Nov. 9, 2026 in Organic Food
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Neighbors and Fountain Heights Farms opened the We All Eat Market, a grocery store created by the community in the Fountain Heights area of Birmingham. The store opened after the neighborhood had gone about 70 years without a grocery store.
Why it matters
Residents identified a lack of local food access as the need the market addresses, and the project was built through neighbor donations rather than a conventional retail developer. The store offers a community-owned option for fresh food in a neighborhood that had none for decades.
Fountain Heights Farms has raised $30,000 from neighbors toward a $1 million capital campaign to build the market building. The store is open Tuesday through Sunday and closed Mondays for restocking.
The players
Fountain Heights Farms
Fountain Heights Farms is the community farm organization that created the We All Eat Market with neighbors.
The details
Neighbors passed cash donations directly to the farm organizers from their cars, after Fountain Heights Farms put out a call to describe its plans. The market is built around a shared goal of bringing grocery access back to a neighborhood that had lacked one for roughly 70 years.
Timeline
About 70 years before opening: the last grocery store in Fountain Heights closed.
November 9, 2026: The We All Eat Market grand opening celebration.
Culture Shift
Community-owned grocery models like those of cooperatives have grown as neighborhoods seek local control over food access. The We All Eat Market follows this pattern in Birmingham, where a neighborhood built its own store after decades without one.
Residents of Fountain Heights now have a grocery option within the neighborhood after about 70 years without one. The store is open Tuesday through Sunday, so shoppers should plan around the Monday closure for restocking.
The takeaway
Community-funded food access projects can fill gaps left by departed grocers, and neighbors who want fresh food in their area may find that organizing and donating is one practical path. Watch the capital campaign progress if you want to see the building completed.
What happens next
The capital campaign for the $1 million market building remains ongoing, and the grand opening celebration is scheduled for November 9, 2026.
Further reading
For more on local produce and fresh-food access, see Organic Food coverage.
Live Poll
Should your community get a local grocery store if it has none?
