LIVE UNITED Y’All!

East Meets West: Mobile Farmers Market Unites California Neighborhood

Note: Voting has ended and winners will be announced on December 1st at Metro United Way’s Community Pep Rally!

Description of the Innovation:

1. Summarized— The California Neighborhood Farmers Market in keeping green by usinga bicycle-powered portable trailer to sell vegetables in the California Neighborhood to those residents who can’t visit the produce market operating at Victory Park, from June until October.

2. What makes it unique—Using a hybrid road bicycle, a Martin 29er, attached to a lightweight, aluminum 12-foot trailer with a weight capacity of 330lbs and using up to eight 30 gallon tubs, the mobile market was born. The California Neighborhood Farmers Market is located on the west side of the California Neighborhood and operates Saturdays from 10 until 2. The residents of the east side had long felt the market should alternate between the west and east side. We wanted to let the residents know that the California neighborhood Farmers Market serves all of California, no matter its location. We needed to demonstrate this by going mobile with the market. We shied away from using a gas power vehicle in favor going green. We are now able to transport produce from the Victory Park location to the California Community Center on the east side and also serve the senior citizen community at California Square, a senior center.

3. Project plan— Presently, we rent the bicycle from Green Orbit Peddlers, and to sustain our mobile market we would like to purchase the bicycle and the trailer. We also want to hire our own driver from the California neighborhood. This would guarantee the sustainability of our project as well as employ a community resident familiar with the locations and stops. The Farmers Market is glad to be under the umbrella of the California Collaborative with its many partners that are supportive to our mission of bringing fresh produce to the California Neighborhood.