John, 69, wanted to retire from running his small-town grocery store. However, he didn't want to 1 his local community without a grocery store to shop at. He was facing a dilemma (困境).
John's parents opened the store in 1940, and John 2 it over in
1985. When the store first opened, it was one of four grocery stores in town. Now, it's the last one 3 . Since there was no one in his family who could continue running it, John 4 selling it and put the store on the 5 three years ago. Although he got some interest, no 6 came in. 7 , he pulled the store off the market, as he worried that whoever bought the building might not continue the grocery store, which would make life harder for people in the community — especially those without 8 to a vehicle.
Then last summer, Elizabeth, who grew up in a nearby town, 9 John with an idea. She offered to raise money to buy the store, with the goal of 10 it into a sustainable social enterprise. Thus, Elizabeth turned to local residents and people 11 . Local residents, as well as people with 12 to the town, donated.
In a matter of months, the community 13 half a million dollars, which was enough for them to 14 the property and renew the store.
John, for his part, is 15 that his family's legacy (遗产) will live on, and the residents will still have a local place to shop for fresh food.
