The Farm Fresh Mobile Market (FFMM) is a public/private partnership of residents, funders, educators, and farmers to help address the problem of food disparity in the South and Westside neighborhoods of Syracuse, where access to fresh fruits and vegetables is limited. The partners include the Rosamond Gifford Charitable Foundation, the Community Health Foundation of Western & Central New York, the Allyn Foundation, the Central New York Regional Market Authority, the Onondaga County Department of Aging and Youth and SUNY Morrisville College. The Mobile Market was inspired by a project launched in Oakland, California by The People's Grocery. The philosophy behind the Mobile Market project is to bring locally grown produce, fresh from local farmers, to the targeted community, and to provide educational information about healthy living to communities lacking the resources to live healthy lives. The FFMM is an initiative to combat food disparity issues by creating access to healthy food in communities that do not have grocery stores in close proximity. These neighborhoods are typically filled with fast food chains or corner stores that do not have fresh fruits and vegetables available. This food disparity contributes to greater problems such as health issues and increased medical costs that are associated with childhood and adult obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer. On a typical Mobile Market day, Frank Recore, a CNY Regional Market Authority employee, arrives at the market at 5:00 am to purchase locally grown produce from Central New York farmers. Because of Frank's longstanding relationship with local farmers he knows what produce is available locally, and which farmers will be able to supply him with the produce that the residents from various communities are requesting. The other employees that staff the Mobile Market truck reside in the community where the Mobile Market frequents and help identify which sites the Mobile Market should visit. Benjamin Vitale, the Executive Director of the CNY Regional Market Authority, teaches the Mobile Market employees how to purchase quality produce, negotiate prices with farmers, and how to display the produce so that it is appealing to the customers, thus sharing valuable job and entrepreneurial skills.
The Mobile Market is regularly scheduled to visit senior housing sites, senior centers, houses of worship, Head Start, and WIC centers. The Food Stamp Program Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card, and the Senior and WIC Farmers' Market Nutrition Program coupons are accepted at the Mobile Market. The Onondaga County Department of Aging and Youth Nutrition Services Coordinator, Maria Mahar, RD, conducts outreach at various sites by helping seniors enroll in the Food Stamp Program and providing nutrition information in the form of recipes, produce fact sheets, and educational classes.
Customers often ask if the produce is locally grown and which farms the produce comes from. Seniors are especially concerned about wanting to support their local farmers. They often comment that the produce that they purchase from the Mobile Market is fresher and less expensive than the produce found in the local grocery stores. Seniors with limited mobility that reside in senior housing remark that they are thrilled to have easy access to fresh produce, without the worry of transportation. An additional benefit is the socialization that the Mobile Market provides for seniors, and many share recipes and preparation tips and ideas.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact the Onondaga Department of Aging and Youth at (315) 435-2362.
