For a decade neighbors in Tully had to travel long distances to do what many of us may not think twice about -- grocery shopping. Time Warner Cable News first told you a grocery store was in the works over the summer. The Local Food Market Tully is now open. TWC News' Iris St. Meran tells us what customers say the new store means to them.

TULLY, N.Y. -- Alexandra Sloan has lived in Tully her whole life. After the area lost its grocery store about 10 years ago, food shopping became something that was involved and took some planning.

"We'd be going to either Cortland or Syracuse. It's about 25 minutes either way," Sloan said.

Now she doesn't have much of a commute for her basic grocery needs, since the Local Food Market Tully opened last week in the village. 

"This store here will actually cut down on a lot of my travel time and gas money," Sloan said. "It'll save me trips on little things, so when I run out of one thing or another, I don't have to go 30 miles for just one thing."

Other shoppers also shared that sentiment, saying it was a welcomed addition.

"Those moments when you're like, 'Oh my gosh, I'm making dinner or whatever and I forgot,' " Krystin Downes said. "Or you get a note home from school that says you have been elected to make cupcakes for the class tomorrow."

The Local Food Market offers a number of products that are locally sourced, like milk from Trinity Valley in Cortland.

"So it's a good sort of symbiotic relationship that we have going with local farmers helping to keep them in business and offering their products to consumers," said Chastity Mydlenski, Local Food Market owner. "It can also help them to not have to do markets so much."

Groceries are just the beginning of something more for this community and surrounding areas.

"There is going to be outreach that comes from this store," said Kathy Redman, market manager. "The farm to table program, which can be integrated into the school system ... We can service parts of the community that need additional support. Education, when it comes to nutrition."

The Local Food Market Tully will be open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and on Sundays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.