What does a hipster like more than a food truck? A farmers market. Combine those two things together, and you have a way to bring farm-fresh healthy eats to countless people.
As TakePart reports, starting tomorrow (Oct. 1) and running to Nov. 26, a farmers market on wheels called the Mobile Oasis Farmers Market will be rolling around Guilford County, N.C. as part of a nine-week-long pilot program organized by the county’s Public Health Department.
According to the report, the county is home to 60,000 residents who live in the area’s 24 food deserts (which means they are more than a mile from the closest supermarket). About 20 percent of the population are low-income, and many cannot afford cars — which means they don’t have a lot of fresh-food options.
MORE: Why Public Markets Are So Important
“A lot of these folks don’t have transportation and end up doing shopping at convenience stores or local corner stores,” Janet Mayer, a nutritionist with the department, tells TakePart.
It’s important to recognize how the lack of access to fresh food can negatively impact one’s health. Since these residents can’t get to fruits and veggies, why not bring fruits and veggies to them? Guilford’s mobile farmers market will sell goods such as broccoli, collard greens, sweet and white potatoes, pumpkins, onions, apples and kale from Smith Farms Greenhouses, a local farm in Gibsonville, N.C.
The trailer will visit two food deserts every week, setting up shop by the Department of Social Services in Greensboro, N.C. and at the Warnersville Community Center. As for the prices, the mobile farmers market is said to be “really reasonable” and will accept SNAP and EBT benefits.
With any luck, Guilford’s farmer’s market will be a rolling success.
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Tag: fresh produce
Community Groups Guarantee $5 Bags Filled With Local Fruits and Veggies
Healthy foods can be prohibitively expensive, but not every fresh produce provider is a moneymaker. In Weatherford, Texas, just west of Fort Worth, the Rotary Club and Weatherford Christian School (WCS) have developed programs to share low-cost fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables with the public. With 15 items in each bag, the $5 price tag means that the groups often lose money the deal, and they make up the cost “passing the hat” among members. The programs have become popular over the past few months, especially since the re-usable bags make the bargain even more attractive. For the WCS program, the environmentally friendly bags don’t just draw in more people, they also fuel a fundraising effort to serve nearby hungry populations. Parents can purchase unused bags and the proceeds go toward the school’s weekly Meals on Wheels route.