Community Action Council has launched its Mobile Food Market, a game-changer in the fight against food insecurity and poor nutrition in underserved areas. These communities are often located in what is known as a “food desert,” where access to fresh and healthy food is limited, and fast food and convenience stores dominate the landscape. Unfortunately, this leads to eating ultra-processed food, high in sugar and salt, and lacking nutritional value, which can cause health-related issues like obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.
The Council’s Mobile Food Market is a converted 12-seat school bus fully equipped with refrigeration, running water, and food prep space. This initiative aims to provide healthy and nutritious food to the Council’s Head Start facilities, delivering food kits containing fresh fruits and vegetables, whole-grain products, and non-processed meats.
Partnering with Black Soil Ky, an organization that invests in black farming and farmers while promoting healthy eating habits and proper nutrition, the Mobile Food Market can now reach 50 families every time it visits a community.
The Mobile Food Market is an effective solution to food insecurity and nutrition-related health issues and raises awareness of the Council’s Head Start and community programs. The bus will travel to community events and operate alongside the Council’s other nutritional health initiatives, such as the Healthy Meals on a Budget program, which educates participants on how to eat well with limited resources, and Cooking Matters, a virtual program that promotes healthy home cooking and nutrition.
The Council’s Health and Nutrition Director, Laura Sheffield, said, “Building healthy habits at a young age is so important. The children we serve are at a great age to be encouraged to try new fruits and vegetables. Not all families have easy access though, so the Mobile Food Market and the free bags of produce that we are able to provide through Black Soil make a big difference in increasing the nutritional food available to families and creating those lifelong habits.”
In the fall of 2023, the Mobile Food Market began rotating regularly between the Council’s Russell and Winburn Head Start sites. By increasing access to healthy and nutritious food, the Mobile Food Market has the potential to improve the health and well-being of the communities it serves.
To learn more about resources to improve your health, make an appointment with one of our Kynectors. For all things Head Start, check out our Look Who’s Talking podcast.