SAGINAW, Mich. – Chad Richards, owner of a 7-Eleven store in Saginaw, an area deemed a “food desert” by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is transitioning his store to accommodate more fresh produce, salads and sandwiches by 2015, reports MLive.com.

"Because the area's so secluded, we have a lot of walk-in traffic, so [7-Eleven's] just trying to basically help more people around the area that don't have transportation," Richards told the news source.

Tom Miller, Saginaw Future vice president of urban development and special initiatives, told the news source that Richards’ plan is one of the best options for the community to bring more fresh foods to the area. He added that initiatives in other U.S. cities bring refrigerators from local organizations into convenience stores so that they can offer customers more healthy fresh-food options.

“[I]nstalling these refrigerators doesn't create a full-blown grocery store… But if you have the option to pick up a bunch of bananas or a pineapple or an orange, it's a good way to sort of introduce those other options," Miller commented

Richards told the news source that he’s looking forward to the changes coming to his 7-Eleven store.

"It's going to be great … Unfortunately, the convenience food industry, it's more fast food, junk, it's more get-it-and-go, so I think having more fresh foods, especially in this area, will be good."