Illinois announced the first recipients of grant funding Thursday under a new state program intended to bring grocery stores to food deserts. The state announced a total of $7.9 million in grants slated to go toward new stores in areas that lack access to fresh groceries and to existing stores that applied for funding for equipment upgrades. Among the recipients of funding for new stores is Forty Acres Fresh Market, an Austin grocer that now operates via pop-ups and as a delivery service. The state awarded $750,000 to Forty Acres for its new bricks-and-mortar store at 5713 W.