Poughkeepsie nonprofit group debuts mobile farmers market
Poughkeepsie, N.Y. – It’s a new day for farm-fresh, affordable food shopping in the City of Poughkeepsie.
Imagine living in a place where access to fresh vegetables and fruits is severely limited. Does it seem remote? Third World? Believe it or not, there are many people in the City of Poughkeepsie and the mid-Hudson Valley who live in so-called “food deserts,” where access to fresh food on a regular basis just isn’t in the cards.
Dutchess Outreach and its partners have taken a giant leap toward ending that trend with the second season of the Poughkeepsie Plenty Fresh Market this summer.
“According to a Dutchess County Health Department survey, one out of four City of Poughkeepsie residents reported difficulty accessing healthy food, and more than half of those people said such food was too expensive,” said Brian Riddell, executive director of Dutchess Outreach.
According to research disseminated by Poughkeepsie Plenty, more than 1 in 4 households in Poughkeepsie do not own a vehicle.
“Too many residents live more than a mile from a supermarket without reliable transportation. In this context, corner stores are an important food source, where healthy options are often extremely limited and can be quite expensive,” said Susan Grove, who led the Poughkeepsie Plenty research team. “There is clearly an opportunity to bring affordable, fresh food to Poughkeepsie’s neighborhoods.”
The market will launch as a part of June’s First Friday celebrations, on the 3rd.
The following week, the market’s schedule we be as follows:
Wednesdays:
Family Partnership Center: 11:30 to 1:00
Maplewood: 2:00 to 3:00
Thursdays:
Interfaith: 11:30 to 1:00
Eastman & Bixby (Soldier’s Fountain): 2:00 to 3:30
Cloud Bartoli is the Mobile Market Manager. She has experience working in farming, specifically urban farming, and has a background and education in agriculture. Some of the food will also come through thanks to local Hudson Valley Farming collaborations namely Poughkeepsie Farm Project, Commonground Farm in Beacon, NY, Willow Vale Farm, and Indoor Organic Gardens of Poughkeepsie, whose generosity help put harvest bounty in the hands of soup kitchens and meal programs (including Dutchess Outreach’s Lunch Box), food pantries and anyone who helps provide food to people who have too little.
Patrons may pay with cash, Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program checks, WIC or SNAP benefits. In collaboration with Hudson River Housing’s River Haven program, teenagers will learn job skills by working on the mobile market.
This Season we are very excited to welcome Poughkeepsie Farm Project Education Director, Ellie Limpert! Ellie will be using produce stocked in the Market to host cooking demonstrations for the public, to give them a better idea of how they can incorporate some of the veggies we have for sale in their meals.
In collaboration with the Cornell Cooperative and Health Quest, nutritionists will appear at some market venues to offer advice on healthy recipes and fun ways to use the produce.
The Poughkeepsie Plenty Fresh Market is funded through grants from the Community Foundation of the Hudson Valley, the New York Healthy Food & Healthy Communities Fund, Health Quest, Vassar Brothers Medical Center and the United Way for Cornell Cooperative Extension.
Partners include Dutchess Outreach, Poughkeepsie Plenty Food Coalition, the Family Partnership Center, Hudson River Housing, Interfaith Towers, Poughkeepsie Housing Authority (New Hope Community Center), Cornell Cooperative Extension Dutchess County and Dutchess County Interfaith Council, Poughkeepsie Farm Project.
You can find out more about the market online at www.dutchessoutreach.org/ppm.You can also find its location and other information by connecting on social media using #PokPlentyMarket.
