grounded for good:

a permanent home for gaining ground

partner with us to create a healthier food system for all chattanoogans

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We’re moving — and we need your help!

Contact our Founder and Executive Director Holly at hmartin@thegainingground.org to learn how you can support the movement for a healthier Chattanooga.

Check out this webpage for updates on our progress.

our story

Gaining Ground is more than just a grocery store. We seek to make nutritious food affordable to all in Chattanooga.

We do this by:

Bringing produce, dairy, eggs, meat, and more 30+ local farmers and growers to our store, where customers have the flexibility to shop four days a week, compared to the limited days and hours of a farmer’s market;
Intentionally operating our store in an area of need — a neighborhood otherwise classified as a food desert where a large percentage of the population faces health disparities;
Community nutrition outreach and education;
Operating Double Up Food Bucks, a nutrition incentive program which matches SNAP purchases dollar-for-dollar up to $20 per person per day to help low-income families and individuals buy fresh, locally sourced foods

our vision

We’ll be restoring 901 Dodds to its glory days — rumor has it that it was once a small grocery store! In addition to offering us the space to maintain a larger grocery operation and office space for staff, the new location will eventually host a:

Pollinator garden
Community pocket park
Freestanding teaching and production kitchen
Gathering and meeting hub for all things local food

Why we’re moving

Gaining Ground opened in early 2020 and sales have only continued to increase year after year, with 33% growth in the most recent year alone. The community’s demand for local food has outgrown our capacity to deliver in our current 500-square foot space in the St. Andrews Center. Relocating to 901 Dodds will allow us to double the grocery’s size and create a much needed community meeting/teaching space and staff offices.

the need is palpable

Both our current and new location are located in the 37404 zip code, where 24.0% of residents live in poverty — nearly double Hamilton County's overall poverty rate of 12.7%, and one of only seven zip codes countywide above 20%.

38,000+ Hamilton County residents face food insecurity — which is over 10% of the population — and more than half of them earn slightly too much to qualify for SNAP benefits, leaving them with no safety net to provide food for their families
13% of Hamilton County residents have limited access to healthy food, compared to 9% statewide and just 6% nationally.
11.1% / 35% of Hamilton County adults live with diabetes or obesity, respectively — both above national rates, with poor nutrition a contributing factor.

Source: Hamilton County Health Department, A Picture of Our Health, 2024.

a transformation with results

Our move to 901 Dodds offers more grocery space, which helps us:

Offer greater support to more farmers;
Provide a larger variety of locally-sourced foods and products;
Expand our operating dates and hours;
Facilitate a faster and easier shopping experience!

We’ll also have more outdoor and programatic space, which will lead to:

Opening our doors to facilitating community groups and meetings;
Hosting on-site nutrition education classes and demonstrations;
Sharing the importance of local agriculture and the benefits of fostering native plants in the community.

Our Renovation Timeline

Phase 1a:

Phase 1B:

Phase 2:

Phase 3:

Full renovation of our grocery store building, including a new HVAC system, the construction of a back loading dock and space for a walk in cooler, new fixtures, an ADA ramp, fire alarm system, and more.

Renovating the second part of the building into our community meeting and office space and transforming the outdoor space to encourage pollinators and expand our Free Food Garden.

Building a new teaching and production kitchen at the back of our property with the intention of maximizing community cooking and nutrition education as well as space for entrepreneurs to prepare food in a kitchen that meets industry standards.

Creating a Building Sustainability Fund that will allow us to pay off our mortgage and grow an endowment — freeing up more of our budget for community programming and safeguarding it from funding gaps like the one we experienced in Summer 2025.

Help Us Grow

Make a financial gift

The best way to assist us in scaling up our current operations to serve more of our community is to contribute financially to the cause, which can be done securely through our website.

Donate Here

 in-kind donations

Can you or someone you know provide Gaining Ground with paint, appliances, or office furniture? Please reach out with any inquiries to Heather Herweyer, our Development Coordinator.

Contact Heather