Thread by @estolte

#yeg residents can’t get to the grocery store. So instead, the grocery is coming to them.

I’m not talking shop and click. These are honest-to-goodness, pick apples off the cart shops carrying produce at less than supermarket prices.
edmontonjournal.com/opinion/column…
#yegcc #yegfood

It’s being run as a social enterprise to deliver fresh fruit and vegetables into the heart of Edmonton’s food deserts.

It’s a concept that’s already taken off in Calgary.

Fresh Routes Calgary now trucks veggies to 60 different locations, partnering with H&W Produce & others.

.@FreshRoutes sets up near seniors homes, affordable housing complexes and low-income neighbourhoods without a grocery store within walking distance.

They work with local community ambassadors to promote the market and add a social component to the weekly gathering.
#yegpoverty

@FreshRoutes It’s tackling 3 separate issues: how #yegplan limits access to healthy food, the cost of food for low-income families, and social isolation.

Plus, they'll be open to anyone. Simply by coming out, #yeg residents support community and healthy food for their neighbours.
#yegcc

@FreshRoutes Organizers worked with @CityofEdmonton to select locations (incl. Belvedere LRT, Clareview rec & a post-sec campus) and hope to launch in Sept.

Fundraising for the $60,000 refrigerated truck. If you have a few extra bucks, here's the link:
give.funderbolt.com/ualberta/mobil…
#yegcc #yeg

@FreshRoutes @CityofEdmonton The market is also a new way to address #yegpoverty. It’s not a charity. It isn’t handing out food to the poor, although that’s still necessary in emergencies. It's more of a hand up, with choice & dignity.

Read more detail here
edmontonjournal.com/opinion/column…
#yeg #yegfood #yegplan