KANKAKEE — With the amount of recent rains, the Kankakee County region is far from a desert.

However, a desert does exist within Kankakee’s municipal limits.

This one is about food — more specifically where a shopper can purchase food, as in groceries.

East Kankakee is an official “food desert,” and Mayor Chris Curtis is searching for a retailer to quench this thirst.

Curtis raised the subject of an east Kankakee grocery store and a few other city issues during Thursday’s Economic Alliance of Kankakee County meeting held at the Hilton Garden Inn.

A food desert is defined as an urban area in which it is difficult to buy affordable or good-quality fresh foods, including fruits and vegetables.

The nearest full-service grocery store to east Kankakee, which largely encompasses Kankakee’s 7th Ward as well as portions of its 1st, 2nd and 6th wards, is Jewel at 446 S. Washington Ave., in the city’s 5th Ward.

The other full-service city groceries include the south side Super Walmart; Berkots, along West Court Street; and Aldi, on South Schuyler Avenue near the Interstate 57’s 308 interchange.

Convenience-type stores do not qualify as a full-service grocery.

There are Hispanic grocery stores in east Kankakee, but those are considered specialty-type stores.

No one should anticipate an announcement trumpeting a new grocer anytime soon.

“I would like it to happen tomorrow, but this is likely a three- to five-year project,” he stressed. “It’s a hard sell.”

Curtis envisions a grocery at the site which once was the location for the Marycrest Lanes bowling alley, 1931 E. Court St. The 16-lane bowling alley closed in 2010 and was demolished a few years ago.

Rather than bowling lanes, the city hopes to witness the development of checkout aisles, a fresh meat department, fresh fruits and vegetables and dairy products.

Bringing such a retailer will not be easy.

The city’s last full-service east side grocer was the 104,000-square-foot Kmart store, which included a grocery. The Kmart closed in 1994 and is now the site of the Ricky Rockets Fuel Center.

Curtis had been targeting a 15,000-square-foot to 16,000-square-foot store. He said the discussions he has held with store operators have led him to a store being more in the 22,000-square-foot to 25,000-square-foot range with parking for more than 100 vehicles.

A development of this size would likely take 2 to 3 acres.

Bringing a store here will not be easy nor happen quickly. He is also willing to admit the need for significant incentives — in the form of sales-tax sharing as well as Tax Increment Financing — from the Kankakee City Council will be necessary.

Following the meeting, Curtis said discussions have been held with two or three grocery store operators. He noted one of the region’s current grocery store operators has talked about the location.

Talks, however, have been very preliminary.

While there has been significant development taking place in east Kankakee, a grocery could be a tipping point, Curtis indicated.

“If we can get a grocery [store], I believe other things will follow,” he said. “A new grocery is key to the east side of town.”