Could the loss of the Shop-n-Save store be an opportunity ?
An OPINION By Jennifer Walters-Michalec, Houghton alumni
Growing up in Houghton, I knew our grocery store as Market Basket, Jubilee, and Shop ’n Save. Names changed, but the store remained a place to buy groceries, meet neighbors, and make memories.
With its anticipated closure, that community risks losing essential infrastructure. Rural families could face longer drives for fresh food, higher costs, and one fewer place to connect.
Just miles away sits Houghton University, a Christian institution committed to service. What better opportunity to put those values into practice?
Imagine Houghton helping preserve the store as a community enterprise and hands-on learning opportunity. Students could learn finance, operations, and entrepreneurship while getting to know people beyond campus as neighbors, not strangers. Faculty, alumni, local producers, and residents could help build a sustainable model. Service begins with relationships, not just good intentions.
Perhaps a buyer will step forward before this letter runs. I hope so. But the larger question remains: How can Houghton invest more intentionally in the community that has supported it for generations?
My challenge to university leadership: Convene the conversation. Explore the economics. Engage residents. Invite alumni to invest.
I’ve never donated to my alma mater. I value my education, but its case for giving has never sufficiently compelled me. This would change that. I’ll make my first contribution and offer my professional expertise.
Universities ask communities to support them. Shouldn’t they also sustain the communities supporting them?
Sometimes Christian service isn’t a mission trip abroad. It’s ensuring your neighbors can buy groceries down the road.
