An area grocery store owner is expected to be acknowledged tonight during President Obama's "State of the Union" speech.

Jeff Brown, 46 (above), is president of a chain of 11 Shop Rite stores across the Delaware Valley.

President Obama is expected to talk about building supermarkets in impoverished areas -- what have been called "supermarket deserts" and will most likely single out Brown for his efforts.

Brown has built supermarkets in poor neighborhoods in South Jersey and Philadelphia, including his Parkside store in West Philadelphia:

"Really, what this is about is, there are 23 million Americans who don't have access to fresh food. And none of us are successful until we make that a much smaller problem. And I believe the staff of the White House and the Obamas -- and certainly my staff and I -- really want to see the change."

Although this will be the first time he meets President Obama, Brown says he has been involved in an open dialogue with the White House (see related story) on how his accomplishments here can be put into action in other parts of the country.