People on Chicago’s South and West sides have a new option to buy low cost, fresh produce, as the Fresh Moves Mobile Market heads out every weekday to different neighborhoods in the city.
Malcolm Evans, Urban Growers Collective Farm Manager, says that the mobile market is critically important to ensuring access to healthy food for residents in the city.
“It’s bringing delicious food to folks who need it more," he said.
UGC is a Black- and women -led non-profit farm on the cities south side. Their mission is to build a just and equitable local food system. Their new and improved mobile bus allows them to reach more people.
“Good food is a human right. At this point in our development as a civilization, there shouldn’t be a barrier to getting the highest quality food in our community, says Erika Allen, co-founder of Urban Growers Collective.
Though the food is not free, UGC says it’s fairly priced for farmers to earn a living. And thanks to generous donations and partners like Barilla, vouchers are available to match purchases up to $20. SNAP and LINK benefits are also accepted at the mobile market.
“We started with just simple volunteerism, and we started kickstarting the funding for their south side farm, and now we are supporting the actual distribution of good food to the community," Prita Wadhwani, communication manager at Barilla, says.
Local
In all, the mobile produce bus reaches 15 different locations around the city, providing 2,000 pounds of fresh produce to communities in need.
“Perfect for the neighborhood. Perfect. I’m gonna tell everybody I know to come out here,” says neighborhood resident Mary Scott-Boria.
For a complete schedule of where the bus will be, click here.
