on one side of a street in congress heights, a neighborhood in southeast washington, d.c., is an abandoned grocery store residents once relied on. on the other side sits terry hall’s store, an attempt by the 66-year-old man to bring essential household items to the the city’s ward 8, one of its chronically underserved areas.

“i am the grocery store,” said hall, who sells his products on top of folding tables and from his truck at a discounted price on the corner of south capitol st. sw and brandywine st. se every afternoon.

hall works in a neighborhood that is considered a food desert. the closure of good food market in november 2022, just one year after opening, brought residents of anacostia and congress heights back to having slim pickings. the grocery stores giant and safeway, on alabama ave. se, are the only full-service stores in the surrounding area. for some people in these neighborhoods, the trip to either store could be at least a 20-minute bus ride.

according to capital area food bank’s hunger heat map, there are 2,431 estimated food insecure households in this area – which is 98% higher than in the rest of the dmv. there are approximately 3,843 food insecure adults, according to their data.

though hall does not sell perishable food, members of the community said he can get them these items when necessary.

“terry’s been helping me every single day. he helped me not steal from people and if i need anything he helps me, if it comes down to food, clothing or anything. he helps me and he helps this community a lot,” said damontre long, a young man who lives right around hall’s store. “i set up stuff for him and he gives me jobs to keep me out of trouble.”

long is not the only young member of the community positively impacted by hall. jessica jankes, another ward 8 resident, said her 11-year-old daughter worked for hall last summer. “she sold merchandise and talked to customers. she did everything. terry does a lot for the kids and the community.” 

hall also provides incentives for the kids to do well in school. when they come to him with good grades on their report cards, hall gifts them with candy or dollar bills, he said.

“he is a good man. he always has things for my daughter and he’s always helping the kids. if you run out of stuff, he makes sure you get it,” said dechell blackeney, who lives in congress heights and is the mother of a 3-year-old girl whom hall always helps. “last friday, he even had fried fish friday and he cooked and gave to the community.”

hall said he can save people the time and money it takes to pick up a few necessary items.

“i’ve been here in this spot every day for 20 years. i deal with people who really, really need me,” he said. 

he sells a plethora of products, varying from personal hygiene to household cleaning products and even clothing. he takes cash only for payment, he said.

“i come here all the time. sometimes i got to get something and need it right away and i come here instead of the grocery store,” said violet council, a member of the congress heights community. “you don’t got to take bus after bus after bus. he got all the stuff right here.”

according to hall, his only goal is to give back to this community, where he grew up and still lives. however, he has also faced some difficulties. he said his truck with thousands of dollars worth of products was once stolen and that some people have tried to take advantage of him and his store, but that is not enough to stop him.  

hall said he buys the products from large, full-service stores in either virginia or the district. he said he purchases them with the money he has saved and invested over the years from working several jobs simultaneously, in addition to his social security income and donations.

“i just keep turning my money over and over again. but some people donate, which is really helpful, because i lower my price to make products affordable here in the community,” hall said.

donations and visitors are welcomed by hall. to donate, get in touch with hall’s assistant, jessica, at 202-892-9305.