Jeff Brown, president of Brown's Family ShopRite, in Westville, has gone to the nation's capital to represent a popular initiative aimed at helping grocers expand into urban areas.

Brown will be seated with first lady Michelle Obama during tonight's State of the Union address by President Barack Obama. Brown did not know if the president would refer to him during the address.

"They called me on Friday," Brown said. "They don't tell you what the president is going to say or do."

Brown's company, which owns a ShopRite in Brooklawn and nine locations in Pennsylvania, wants to expand into urban areas with help from grants provided by Pennsylvania's Fresh Food Financing Initiative. Brown is the only person affiliated with the Fresh Food Financing Initiative invited to the address.

The program drew national attention last year, which brought a delegation from Washington, D.C. to learn more.

"Last July we had a number of cabinet secretaries visit one of our stores in West Philadelphia," Brown said. "We've continued an ongoing dialogue with the White House about the possibility of a national initiative to take what we had done and try and do it all over the country."

New Jersey adopted a comparable funding program last year to support development in urban areas.

He said it is challenging to open new stores given the economy, especially in urban areas. "If this program advances, it could be a major help to expand," Brown said.