U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson told about 50 people gathered Sunday that the key to securing funding to save Margaret’s Grocery, the folk art Bible castle on North Washington Street, will be in the community.

“We have a number of programs in Washington, but none of those programs work without community involvement,” Thompson said. “Unless you can demonstrate that these items you are talking about have the interest of the Vicksburg/Warren County community, you can’t really make the convincing argument that it needs preserving.”

The group, including the Rev. H.D. Dennis, who built and decorated the structures and bus, met with Thompson and Mayor Paul Winfield at the Kings Community Empowerment Center, near Margaret’s.

Jackson photographer Suzi Altman is spearheading an effort to move the grocery south to downtown Washington Street on a block between Jackson and China streets. Her goal is to move all the parts — cinder block and Styrofoam structures, signs and a school bus turned chapel — to the downtown spot and house them in a building that would protect them from the elements.

The paperwork is in order, she said, so that her group, Save Margaret’s Grocery, can start raising money for the project that could cost $300,000.

“The question is how fast can we get the funds to secure moving to this location,” Altman said. “We will be ready within two weeks to raise funds. Our paperwork will be filed with the state, so we can officially fundraise. We have all our ducks in a row, it’s now just about finding sources of funding to go forward.”

Thompson said after the meeting that if federal money is approved for the project, the state, city and private sectors should follow suit.

“Most of the time the federal money serves as the inducer for other public and private efforts,” Thompson said. “If we come in at the federal level, we would expect not only the state of Mississippi to do something, the city of Vicksburg and Warren County as public bodies, but also the philanthropic communities like the casinos and religious entities, as well.”

Winfield said that moving the grocery downtown would be a boon for the city’s economy.

“From a city prospective, our administration is going to do all that we can to improve the quality of life, especially in downtown Vicksburg,” Winfield said. “I would envision a great multicultural center that also anchors downtown along with the (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) Interpretive Museum and the Transportation Museum and those sorts of entities that are economic drivers as well because they indirectly contribute to the economy by encouraging more tourism and foot traffic in our community.”

Altman said last week that she would like for an African-American cultural enrichment center to be included with the relocated Margaret’s.

Dennis, who now lives in a nursing home, began decorating Margaret’s Grocery more than 25 years ago as a tribute to his wife, who has since died.

He covered the outside and inside of the store with multicolored cinder blocks, plastic beads, signs painted with Bible verses and other religious symbols.

The store has attracted tourists from all over the country and the world.

“This is such an important part of our history,” said Shirley Waring, president of the Vicksburg Heritage League. “People are in love with our folk art. I bring people from out of town to look at the grocery all the time.”