Local Motive Mobile Farmers MarketThe Local Motive Mobile Farmers Market supports community members and residents experiencing food insecurity by providing access to seasonal, fresh, healthy local foods in vulnerable and at-risk communities. Through an ongoing partnership between Feast Down East and local community partners such as Wilmington Housing Authority, the Local Motive Mobile Farmers Market is able to offer weekly, year-round, pop-up farmers markets at local community centers, public housing neighborhoods, businesses and faith-based spaces. Selling locally sourced foods through the Feast Down East Food Hub in Burgaw, NC that is grown and raised from over 30 farmers in a 50-mile radius!
Operating out of a refrigerated Ford transit van, Local Motive is designed to address increasing food insecurity and access towards healthy, nutrient-dense foods among vulnerable populations. The mobile farmers market operation accepts SNAP/EBT or food stamps, as well as debit and cash, as forms of payment. In addition to participating in the Fresh Bucks program for SNAP/EBT customers, for each dollar a SNAP recipient withdraws from their account to spend on their purchase, they will be matched an additional dollar, for up to a total of $20 Fresh Bucks. The Local Motive Mobile Farmers Market additionally offers educational resources, recipes, taste testings, cooking demonstrations and health-based education for healthy practices through collaborations with the New Hanover County Department of Public Health, New Hanover Regional Medical Center, NC State Cooperative Extension, NourishNC, Voyage, Northside Health and Wellbeing Improvement Team, and UNC-Wilmington. The mobile farmers market operation is one of a few selected participants of the University of Buffalo's inaugural Veggie Van Study, the first collegiate study evaluating and measuring the success of mobile markets. Participation has allowed Local Motive to expand sites in numbers, products, and services offered, including the collection of exciting data measurable to help us better understand the incredible benefits for health and wellness by being able to access healthy foods. Follow Feast Down East on Facebook and Instagram for Local Motive updates, including weekly availability, resources and events! |
Jordyn Appel, the Local Motive Program Director, explains how our mobile farmers market began
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Where to find the local motive mobile farmers market
Feast Down East has implemented an in-depth framework of safeguards for customers, community members, and staff while at Local Motive farmers market sites. Please reference our Public Health and Safety Operational Guide for more information.
