For many low-income families, putting fresh fruits and vegetables on a grocery shopping list is a luxury out of reach.
They live in what are known as food deserts, where the only choice for buying groceries is a corner store or a convenience shop.
(Kathy Steele/Staff Photos)
Fresh produce is either nonexistent or so costly families can’t afford it. Catching a public bus to a grocery store isn’t always a satisfactory answer.
“You can only carry so much on a bus,” said Mike McCollum, executive director of the Bob Gilbertson Central City Family YMCA in Tampa.
So, the Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA came up with a solution – the Veggie Van.
The program operates on a two-week rotation, delivering seasonal produce to families in need. The refrigerated truck, loaded with fresh fruits and vegetables, will be parked at the Lacoochee Community Center in Stanley Park on Aug. 4 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Other participating communities are Sulphur Springs, Wimauma Village and Tampa Heights, in Hillsborough County. The Children’s Board of Hillsborough County, the Bank of America and the Joy McCann Foundation are among the sponsoring partners.
On July 10, McCollum and other dignitaries, including Tom Looby, president of the Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA, officially rolled out the yellow and orange van.
The vehicle sparked interest from passersby while parked for a week in the lot across from the Central City YMCA on Palm Avenue in Tampa.
“It just looks cool,” said Looby. “We will go to (families) in this visually, appealingly colorful van. But instead of the ice cream truck, it’s the Veggie Van.”
As many as 50 food deserts have been identified including the Lacoochee community, said Elizabeth Roman, the mobile food market director for the Tampa area YMCA.
In the future, more communities in Hillsborough and Pasco counties could become stops for the Veggie Van.
“There are many families not able to access fresh fruits and vegetables,” Roman said. “We’re trying to eliminate the gap, if we can.”
Children and families who qualify for free or reduced meals at schools automatically qualify and only need to sign up for the program. Families in Lacoochee can sign up at local Boys & Girls Clubs or on the day the van comes to the community center.
A nutritionist, with the local extension agency, will work with families on food preparation, tips for shopping, food safety, nutrition plans and the need for physical activity.
“We strongly believe the Veggie Van will change the face of hunger in the Tampa community,” said Jacqueline Hunter who will work with the Veggie Van program in Hillsborough. She works for Hillsborough County Extension.
In Lacoochee, an extension program, Family Nutrition Program of Pasco County, will partner with the Veggie Van. The county program has been providing nutritional and educational services at Lacoochee Elementary School for about eight years.
The first three years of the Veggie Van will cost about $200,000 from a combination of funds from the YMCA and grants from the Children’s Board of Hillsborough County and Joy McCann Foundation. In addition, Bartow Ford donated the van and CGM Services provided the van’s cooling system.
Representatives of Florida’s Department of Agriculture are serving as advisors for the mobile market.
The idea for Veggie Van had been percolating for more than a year. The agencies found common concern about giving families more access to healthy, nutritional food.
And, Looby said the Joy McCann Foundation already was supporting a food program in Lacoochee. The YMCA itself has ongoing programs in Pasco. “It made sense for everyone to make the connections,” he said.
Interested families can contact Elizabeth Roman at (813) 229-9622, ext. 1729, or email to ">.
Published July 22, 2015
