A retrofitted city bus delivers affordable produce to Calgary's 'food deserts'

Article content

A refurbished City of Calgary bus is returning to the streets, but this time filled with affordable produce instead of passengers.

Fresh Routes’ mobile grocery store launched Monday with plans to change the produce game for Calgarians struggling to find and buy fresh produce. The new non-profit agency purchases its produce locally and sells it at a 40 to 60 per cent markdown so communities with limited access to grocery stores or low incomes can eat well.

“There are no qualifying questions when you come; anyone has access to the market and mobile grocery store. We want people to have a choice that they can afford and stops right at their doorstep,” said Lourdes Juan, Fresh Routes co-founder.

Food access is a serious concern for many people, especially those who find themselves living in “food deserts,” said Juan.

The term “food deserts” has been used to describe North American neighbourhoods where residents cope with poor access to nutritious, affordable food. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, contributing factors include limited transportation and mobility, as well as low income and lack of grocery stores in the area.

“Some of the neighbourhoods we go to have a lot of seniors living there and their mobility is limited in the summertime, let alone during the winter. To get to a grocery store can be challenging,” said Juan.

“Regardless of income, people struggle to get food, whether you’re not close to a grocery store, can’t afford it or don’t have the time. I think at one point or another it has affected a lot of people.”

Fresh Routes saw a need in many neighbourhoods in Calgary while operating pop-up markets since July 2018 through the Leftovers Foundation. They determined the retrofitted city bus was the best way to bring nutritional choices to those facing transportation or economic barriers.

“We looked at best practices around North America and a lot of the best practices retrofitted a city bus, so this is not something new,” said Juan, adding that Halifax, N.S., and St. Louis, Mo., have similar programs.

The slogan on the side of the bus reads, “Good food stops for you.” The team worked with designers in Toronto who donated their services to help outfit the bus, creating the mobile grocery store. They’ve even managed to add a walk-in fridge to the back of the bus.

To ensure they’re reaching the communities in greatest need, Fresh Routes partnered with First Nations communities, post-secondary institutions, service agencies and affordable housing providers.

“We have a waiting list of communities looking at having us stop by and after the first few weeks, we’ll be looking at where we can expand,” said Juan.

Local family-owned business H&W Produce works with Alberta farmers to sell Fresh Routes fresh produce at a discounted rate and Prairie Mills Bread Co. donates their day-old bread. 

“They give us a discount and we share that discount into communities. We price check every morning just to make sure that we are below store prices,” said Juan.

The mobile grocery store is also working towards bringing more culturally appropriate food to specific areas of the city. Juan said a food like okra is a hot item in some communities and not others because of different cultural demographics.

The complete schedule can be found on Fresh Routes’ website at freshroutes.ca/schedule/, listing where and when they’ll be parked, five days a week.

Fresh Routes will be launching in Edmonton Wednesday, providing the same services to underserved communities in Alberta’s capital city.

sbabych@postmedia.com

On Twitter: @BabychStephanie