FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla. — The City of Fernandina Beach just rolled out a free way for people to get to the grocery store.
Action News Jax previously told you that Fernandina Beach will be without a major grocery store for six months starting late July, as Publix has closed and Winn-Dixie is being converted into an ALDI.
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The city started its biweekly, round-trip shuttle service on Monday between Fernandina Beach and the Winn-Dixie store in Yulee.
It only takes one group of shoppers to the store for an hour of grocery shopping before dropping them back off on the island.
Here is the schedule of stops for the shuttle, which runs every Monday and Thursday:
- 9:30 AM: Atlantic Recreation Center
- 9:35 AM: La Sureña Restaurant
- 9:40 AM: Martin Luther King Junior Recreation Center
- 9:45 AM: Dollar General (Lime Street)
- 10:00 AM: Drop-off at Winn-Dixie (Lofton Square Ct.)
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“I think it’s amazing,” said Sharon Jamison, who spoke with Action News Jax after using the shuttle. “People would really benefit from this if they would use it.”
Jamison told Action News Jax having a safe, free way to get to the grocery store is something she plans to take advantage of.
“It was wonderful to have someone young driving me across the bridge in the weather and driving me here safely. I’ll do it every time,” Jamison said.
Action News Jax found more crashes have been reported in Nassau County through the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles in recent years. In 2020, about 1,070 crashes were reported in the county, compared to the more than 1,100 reported last year.
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We also found recent numbers from the Center for Neighborhood Technology reporting that, in Nassau County, the cost of transportation is about $6,500 more per year than in the rest of the U.S. It, in part, takes things like the number of vehicles families in the county own, on average, the cost of gas, and the cost of car maintenance into account.
Avoiding travel costs, alone, brought Jamison on board.
“They’ll see just how wonderful it is to be able to come and purchase your products without having to pay to come to purchase and without the stress of having to drive yourself,” Jamison said.
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