On Friday, Aug. 14, the newly founded Delridge Produce Cooperative (DPC) set up a produce stand on Delridge Way in front of Watts Electric Service for the afternoon. The next day, the stand had moved to Care-A-Lot Daycare, then on to the P-Patch near Brandon Street. On Monday, I found the stand at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, where volunteers busily filled customers’ bags with fresh, organic peaches and multi-colored carrots.
The Mobile Market is a four-week long experiment funded by a grant from the Department of Neighborhoods. Its purpose is to demonstrate that there is a tremendous need for fresh food in the Delridge corridor and that a produce stand can help fill that void. Driving down the thoroughfare, one can spot a home improvement store, convenience stores, even a police station—but there are no grocery stores or other fresh food outlets closer than White Center, said Ranette Iding, a DPC volunteer. This makes getting fresh, healthful foods difficult for those who live in the Delridge neighborhood.
Galena White, DPC’s president and the mastermind behind the “Mobile Market” concept, hopes to change all of that. Right now the Mobile Market is backed by a city grant, staffed by volunteers, and stocked by donated fresh fruits and vegetables—but that's only temporary. By 2010, White plans to have a bustling, permanent storefront that will offer organic, fresh food at affordable prices right on Delridge Way.
Speaking to customers Monday, White talked about the need for supplying fresh foods to food banks and the importance of accompanying those food offerings with cooking demonstrations. White believes the produce stand could act as a trading post for people with backyard gardens to barter their excess tomatoes for a few heads of lettuce. It might also act as a classroom, teaching cooking techniques to those unfamiliar with preparing vegetables such as kale or Dragon Tongue pole beans.
The free produce will be available through Sept. 7, but the project does not end there. DPC is looking for feedback from the community to determine its next steps. Every Tuesdsay from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. members of DPC will be at Pearls (4800 Delridge Way S.W.) to discuss how to bring more healthful foods into the area. Surveys are also available on DPC’s website and residents can demand more fresh foods by answering the city’s questionnaire on neighborhood planning.
