ST. LOUIS  • When the Old North Grocery Co-Op opens its doors for the first time today, it will have 15 members.

But that, community organizers say, is just a step toward transforming the neighborhood through food.

The co-op is the first grocery store in the community in recent memory, and will be the only place for residents to get fresh produce and a broad variety of healthy food.

"It's your typical food desert," said Kara Lubischer, a community development specialist with the University of Missouri Extension, describing the neighborhood. "What's available in the Old North St. Louis boundaries are corner stores that don't push healthy items, and a couple of fast-food restaurants. People have to rely on these."

So last year, the extension, along with the Old North St. Louis Restoration Group, launched an effort to turn an old horseradish factory on North 13th Street into a grocery co-op that will sell healthful, affordable and locally grown food. In the process, they have secured about $400,000 in grants.

"It's come a long way," said Sean Thomas, the group's executive director. "The place looks great."

Food deserts are areas with limited access to healthful food, typically low-income urban neighborhoods. These communities often suffer health problems as a result, from high obesity rates to diabetes. Old North St. Louis is just one community that health advocates and community organizers say needs help.

But in the last three years, the neighborhood, best known for Crown Candy Kitchen, has seen some positive change. Four years ago, a farmers market opened on St. Louis Avenue, and last year organizers launched a community garden and a community-supported agriculture program, which delivers weekly boxes of locally grown produce to members.

"The co-op is the final piece to all of this," Lubischer said. "But it's the only piece that's year-round and can provide a variety of items, not just produce."

As with most co-ops, members will pay a fee to join, supporting the business and the services it provides to the community. Members will, in turn, share in the profits, but nonmembers can shop at the store and don't need to be neighborhood residents.

But, the organizers hope, neighborhood residents stand to gain the most. The new co-op, opening at 12:30 p.m., aims to be the cornerstone of a revitalizing community.

"Having a grocery store is part of an overall sustainability plan," Lubischer said. "It's a place to shop, it's a gathering place. You need a grocery store to have a viable neighborhood."