A second free food market will open in a Prince George’s County library

A second free grocery store for Prince George’s County residents is set to open Monday.

Prince George’s County Council Chair Krystal Oriadha will help launch the District 7 Fresh Market at the Spauldings Branch Library in District Heights, according to a news release.

It is the second free market to provide residents with access to fresh foods and pantry staples. The first opened May 28 at the Fairmount Heights Branch Library as part of an effort by Councilwoman Shayla Adams-Stafford.

“Historically, many of the residents in my district have faced too many obstacles to accessing fresh and healthy food sources,” Oriadha said in the news release. “This market will play a key role in connecting more of our families with the healthy resources they need in a dignified way.”

The District 7 Fresh Market will be open two days a week and serve up to 100 participants. Further details on the specific days of operation and how to sign up were not immediately available.

Twelve percent of Prince George’s residents are food-insecure, according to county data last collected in 2023. The Capital Area Food Bank’s 2025 Hunger Report found that 49% of its sample of county residents were experiencing food insecurity. The term is defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as “the limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods, or limited or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways.”

The county will partner with two nonprofits, Community on the Frontline and Lanham’s The StoreHouse on the free grocery store in District Heights.

The grand opening and ribbon cutting for the market will be at 10 a.m., and Oriadha and the nonprofit officials will be joined by County Executive Aisha Braveboy and Maryland Comptroller Brooke Lierman.

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