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How might we better connect food production and consumption?

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Market Days + Food Trucks = Serving Low-income Neighborhoods

What if food trucks sold fresh produce instead of hotdogs? Traveling vendors can set-up shop in different neighborhoods on specific days in order to provide fresh food to locals. By providing mobile service, particularly to under-served urban neighborhoods, many different groups benefit. Because these trucks travel to different neighborhoods each day, they can also share new ideas and improve the scalability of the project.

Organizing market days will require the cooperation of several major stakeholders. Weaving a network of partners will engage many groups and help scale the project to reach even more communities. See exhibit 1 for complete stakeholder matrix.

1) Local governments – Enlisting the help of local governments and leaders is essential to identifying and serving low-income areas. Local governments must be willing to provide low-cost permit incentives to attract entrepreneurs.

2) Businesses – Many businesses are unwilling to invest in low-income areas for several reasons. Permit cost reductions alone will not attract new business. Mitigating risk due to crime and profit loss is crucial. What can attract new business in the first place is the understanding that low-income areas still represent a large revenue and profit pool. By promoting mobile market days, business owners reduce fixed costs and lower break-even sales requirements. Market days also allow business owners to better align supply with demand needs with the effect of reducing waste (and increasing profits).

3) Local residents – The biggest issue facing residents in low-income neighborhoods is accessing fresh and healthy produce. By providing scheduled market days residents can plan to purchase produce on a weekly basis. Not only will residents have access to healthier alternatives they can also buy on a consistent basis.

(Add-on) Additionally, business workshops can be offered to help community members build businesses. As the inaugural group progresses they too become trainers and leaders to build opportunities for other community members.

Add-on:

4) Financing organizations - Whether from bank or micro-financing firm, obtaining capital is imperative in ensuring success. Focusing on community residents will allow for sustainable growth. Again, these communities are untapped market segments if approached responsibly, can be developed into highly viable revenue pools.

5) Educators - This group of stakeholders can also be involved in providing education about food to residents. Whether nutrition advise or recipe ideas, this is yet another piece that can ensure long-term success. Easy and quick food does not always have to be unhealthy. Residents need the opportunity to learn how to prepare them.

6) Farmers/suppliers - If farmers are able to serve local urban neighborhoods they can reduce transportation costs. Urban residents benefit by having access to healthier foods.

4/30/2011

Have you wondered what it would cost to actually start a produce food truck? I certainly have. Here's an interesting article that covers some of the costs of starting a "traditional" food truck business.

http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/05/opening-a-successful-food-truck.html

In the mean time I will attempt to do a financial analysis as to the actual start-up costs. Stay tuned!

5/4/2011

I spoke to a few of my favorite food truck owners in my neighborhood. I set up a quick outline of the costs associated with starting up a business like this. It is attached as an image above. I look forward to some feedback on other costs that should be consider in making something like this happen. Please note that the costs used for insurance, permits, etc. represent a yearly cost. The idea is that although revenue will be generated throughout the year it is good to have at least a year's worth of cash flow in the bank to be safe.

Concept builds

Builds have been added periodically above. Further builds will be included in this section.

There are a few main areas that need the most help. They are listed below and anyone who are "experts" in these areas please chime in.

1) Legal - How can the project effectively engage the local governments in a legal perspective to implement the project.

2) Financial - Low-cost loans are at the heart of empowering would-be low-income entrepreneurs. How can we do this sustainably? See comments under "implementation" section below...specifically point #3.

3) Operational - How can all the stakeholders link effectively and seamlessly?

UPDATE 5/22/11

So many great suggestions I hope that I am able to capture it all.

Some of the major call-outs have been associated with building strong linkages between local growers and vendors as well as linking communities, both within and across towns. Additionally, education is an integral component that will ensure the sustainability of such a project as families learn the best ways to keep the healthful integrity of the foods that they purchase both through storage and cooking. Additions have been made in the sections below to cover some of these call outs.

UPDATE 5/23/11

Based on the suggestions of Samantha Harmon and Ashleigh Ferran I added a component that can help link the use of hub kitchens to the truck vendors. The hubs will act as a link between small farmers and the vendors. Also - education and training can be offered through these hubs as described by Samantha's concept. The key is to build strong networks in which all stakeholders can benefit and build a critical mass.

What actions would need to be taken to turn this idea into a reality?

This concept requires the help of city governments and community leaders. Though every city is different, a rough schematic can be formulated to scale for other cities. Let's use the city of Philadelphia, where I currently reside.

Below is a lost of actions that may need to be taken to implement this concept. Though the actions are listed in a rough chronological order, many can be done concurrently or in different orders as needed.

1) Identify low-income areas that could benefit the most from mobile market places: West Philly and North Philly.

2) Negotiate with local governments to allocate existing market space in those areas or develop new spaces in vacant and usually distressed areas. Also negotiate reduced rate operating licenses.

3) Negotiate with financing institutions to provide low-cost loans to entrepreneurs willing to invest in said low-income areas. Admittedly, this step is rather difficult. Providing low-interest "teaser" rates will pique the interest of many entrepreneurs but a balance with sustainability must be reached. First, a risk assessment must be made of those who have the ability to pay off the loans within a reasonable amount of time but also generate enough interest revenue for the financial institutions. A possible solution is to build a hybrid fixed/variable rate loan system that can reward individuals for their ability to successfully repay their debt. I'm no financial guru so anyone who has ideas on this please step in.

4) Search for local farmers to supply the produce for these vendors. As Anu points out, creating networks with other vendors to utilize them as suppliers of surplus produce could help drive down prices and eliminate excess waste.

5) Search for resident entrepreneurs or current business owners who will become the vendors. Special consideration should be given to those with business plans to support local growers and healthier food options (both fresh and prepared meals).

6) Enlist the help of school districts to educate residents on healthy preparation and cooking techniques. This can be done through class work, seminars or instructional literature.

7) Enlist the help of other community organizations to do the same a 6: church groups, YMCA, City Year, etc. This group can also help in the education of communities. Cooking classes or nutritional classes may be provided through community groups.

8) Advertise for the market days using the groups in #6 and #7.

What suggestions would you have for potential sources of funding for the development of this project?

The key is to create incentives to attract entrepreneurs to invest more into low-income communities. Financing at reasonable rates is imperative in building strong vendor communities for the market days. Again, point #3 under "implementation" addresses this.

Another option is to involve socially focused venture capitalist firms. In Philadelphia, one such company is Good Company Ventures: http://www.goodcompanyventures.org/.

Virtual team

Paul Fr
Melani Rae
Kevin Derrick
Nilima Achwal
Prachi Mishra
Erin Gibbons
Maya
Robin Waldroup
Charles McGhee Hassrick
Maia Smith
Niko Simonson
Quyen Nguyen
Hannah Strange
Arjan Tupan
Ann Panopio
Sarah Adams
Jason Morenikeji
Samantha Harmon
Ashleigh Ferran

Comments

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Janina

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July 16, 2011, 05:32AM

This is one of a number of suggestions that when combined with others, would go a long way to solving this challenge. It has been in my awareness for quite some time - that for every need/problem the solution is often within our local environment. It's all part of Mother Natures' innate wisdom.

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James McBennett

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June 06, 2011, 04:59AM

Was just in New York last week and went to one of the gourmet food trucks, amazing quality. Much more convinced of a food truck concept after the experience! (Haven't seen them in London - are gourmet food trucks here???)

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Srinivasan Sankaranarayanan

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June 01, 2011, 02:21PM

Great idea Cory! A detailed description to suit it as well :-)

In my personal view in getting things done, i consider that probability of success is inversely proportional to the number of players involved. More the players, more complex the web and increased need for management. In many cases, the project gets complex enough to require a create a separate entity to integrate the network.

My suggestion is that i seriously reckon it would be worthwhile to skim down the number of players, Zero down on a number that will be the minimum number of players. (start with 2 - Producers and Consumers), then slowly introduce the players to the mental model. Find their criticality of them and finally decide on the number of players that would be required for the concept to work optimally.

For eg. Government for subsidies is a good one, but is it absolutely necessary? What if we can find a way to balance the lack of subsidies within the model?

The more complex the system, more difficult the realisation and scalability. A simple working model is definitely better than an unrealised model.

Fantastic concept!

I really loved the level of input by your team.

Good luck with the challenge.

Cheers!
Srini

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Cory Quach's reply to Janina 's comment

Cory Quach

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June 01, 2011, 05:04PM

Great input! The key to scaling is to realize the differences in each city and community. Some cities have both the infrastructure and law structure to allow for more players while others can be created on a smaller scale.

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Taylor Dalton

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June 01, 2011, 02:33PM

Love this idea - especially if it can combine/incorporate educational pieces about the benefits of eating/buying local and fresh. I also really appreciate how well thought out this concept is!

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JB Reed

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May 31, 2011, 06:53PM

Came across KeBal and thought of your food truck idea: http://tiny.cc/u2vtr

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FlavourCrusader

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May 22, 2011, 01:42AM

What a pleasure it was to be able to work with your idea during the Ideas Festival in Brisbane; it was the concept I was hoping to refine! Improving access to healthy food, another avenue for local farmers, community building... it's all there. The beauty of it is that it is achievable and will no doubt have a huge impact. All aboard! http://bit.ly/cHFnWz

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Cory Quach's reply to Janina 's comment

Cory Quach

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May 22, 2011, 01:38PM

Thanks for sharing! I looking forward to hearing about your ideas, especially those pertaining to the scalability of something like a farm bus. It's great that he is able to reach many under-served communities. The key is to keep the concept growing and sustainable.

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FlavourCrusader 's reply to Janina 's comment

FlavourCrusader

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May 29, 2011, 09:31AM

Hi Cory - sorry for the late reply. It's totally scalable. As you say, pilot in a community with a need and support. Work with the community on the concept to make it happen and document the learnings. Evaluate. After some time, you'd have a framework to be able to reproduce it elsewhere. Again and again.

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FlavourCrusader 's reply to Janina 's comment

FlavourCrusader

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May 29, 2011, 09:31AM

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May 20, 2011, 01:02AM

This went down a treat at the Ideas Festival in Queensland! Areas discussed in our workshops that you might like to explore further – potential mash-up with fun and engaging nutritional and health awareness engagement, add-on of other outreach community services and participatory strategies to further engage locals. Bring on the builds!

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Bob Stark

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May 19, 2011, 12:10PM

I LOVE this idea. I will also second the reference to Clover Food Lab (http://www.cloverfoodlab.com/) with the addition that I think their system works because they serve healthy food that is also slightly a guilty pleasure -- they market it as fast food, after all.

So I would recommend avoiding serving, e.g., just "salads" because they are healthy and use a lot of produce.

Low-income areas people typically lack both time and money and, therefore, need nutritionally dense food that requires little or no preparation (e.g., Clover's soy BLT!).

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Bob Stark's reply to Janina 's comment

Bob Stark

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May 19, 2011, 02:48PM

As a follow-up, I think what this means is that an ethnographic study (or similar market research, but specific to the needs of the actual people in the area) should be done in the area to determine their likes, dislikes, and constraints (e.g., money, time, vegetarian). This type of domain study would allow you to find the right "sweet spot" between healthy and what people will actually buy.

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Kirk Soderstrom's reply to Janina 's comment

Kirk Soderstrom

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May 19, 2011, 07:04PM

With the mobility of delivery trucks, the risk of locating the "restaurant" in the wrong location is essentially eliminated. Hence the term "adaptive" in the Adaptive Distribution concept. (feel free to borrow from it). This method of distribution can be customized to several demographics, and can change to meet evolving customer needs.

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Bob Stark's reply to Janina 's comment

Bob Stark

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May 19, 2011, 07:22PM

Kirk, I feel like a food truck is more of a restaurant than a delivery truck, and so the target audience is not those who are subscribed but rather those who live/work in the area.

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Kirk Soderstrom's reply to Janina 's comment

Kirk Soderstrom

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May 19, 2011, 07:58PM

Agree about the distinction between restaurant and delivery truck.

I like your thoughts on finding the right balance. As a live example, Kogi BBQ (http://kogibbq.com/) announces on Twitter where the restaurant trucks will be. Their process is iterative; they learn quickly what works well, and what doesn't. I talked with the CEO and he said that over time, the "stops" become more or less patterned. Their flexibility makes them particularly adept at finding and maintaining a relationship with their base of loyal customers. In other words, this is their market / ethnographic research...and they adapt the product based on the "real-time" feedback, and clever use of social media.

One aspect that I struggled with is the higher cost of locally sourced goods...and was attempting to address this by introducing a subscription component. For a restaurant truck, a subscription model wouldn't make a lot of sense (unless it is a hybrid model). I guess I'm wondering if there are other ways to drive costs down for the lower income demographic, with the constraints that you listed above...

This is just an idea, but there could be a higher-margin business that compensates for the lower margins of this model? Also, with this concept, food waste can be drastically reduced, depending on how well they can predict demand...

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Bob Stark's reply to Janina 's comment

Bob Stark

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May 19, 2011, 08:21PM

I can only speak from my experience with Clover in Boston, but their food isn't terribly expensive ($5 for a sandwich -- http://www.cloverpos.com/media/html/menu.html?restaurantId=3) and they source locally as often as they can.

However, if it's a concern (i.e., if competing with $1 fast food burgers), then one idea is to have a higher margin business in a wealthier part of town. It would make sense to have different food, too, lest you practice unfair business.

There's also the idea of having an optional donation jar. Actually, that reminds me a little bit of Panera's pay-what-you-want experiments (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37213165/ns/business-retail/t/panera-cafe-says-pay-what-you-want/) -- where wealthier people do often pay extra. Then you wouldn't even have to have different locations (i.e., the poor part of town and the rich part), but could continue with the moving-truck idea (vs. stationary food truck) and trust in the goodness of strangers. :)

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JB Reed's reply to Janina 's comment

JB Reed

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May 19, 2011, 09:33PM

Would it be possible to have two different prices for the same good, but be transparent about that, even promote it? You could tell customers in higher income neighborhoods that their purchases are subsidizing prices for lower income people to afford healthy, local food. Some higher income people might really be into that.

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JB Reed's reply to Janina 's comment

JB Reed

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May 19, 2011, 09:35PM

You could price food according to the median income of the zip code in which the truck is selling at any given point in time. The truck could sell in higher income neighborhoods M, W, F and lower income neighborhoods Tu,Thu,Sat to ensure that it used proceeds from higher income neighborhoods to then sell reduced price food in lower income ones.

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Cory Quach's reply to Janina 's comment

Cory Quach

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May 19, 2011, 10:19PM

@JB The idea of the mobility allows vendors to move around. However, when it comes to the neighborhoods in which they serve, the incentives are provided (low permit rates, low-rate financing etc.) to ensure that they service low-income areas. Separate pricing by neighborhood is not unheard of as gas stations in one area charge differently than those in other areas. But it would be difficult to charge different individuals different prices at the same location.

@Kirk - I completely understand the needs to keep costs down and thus keep prices affordable for individuals in low income communities. Anu brings up a great point to utilize surplus produce from grocery stores to help lower costs. Something else worth noting is that vendors can better understand the needs of their customers over time especially with more rigid schedules to service those customers. That way vendors can provide the right amount of goods. Kogi services customers that fall into a different market segment and they are more apt to use social media to find where the truck is. For produce trucks residents will probably require a set schedule. This is especially important for residents to plan meals accordingly.

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Cory Quach's reply to Janina 's comment

Cory Quach

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May 19, 2011, 10:19PM

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Samantha Harmon

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May 19, 2011, 05:13AM

Great idea. As Anne pointed out below, I see a lot of overlap between our to ideas and would love to connect with you further. One main difference is our focus on developing the "middle space" between farmers/food producers and small-scale food entrepreneurs (especially those looking to launch food trucks). Have you thought about building this into your idea at all? We have struggled a bit with identifying the core area of our idea as it is enticing to try and be all parts of the system, but clearly that is too much for any one business to take on. Anyway, your idea has given us a lot of excellent things to think about... we should talk further :)

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Cory Quach's reply to Janina 's comment

Cory Quach

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May 19, 2011, 01:38PM

Let's do it! I tried looking for your concept but was having issues locating it. Do you have a link? I definitely need help working on the "middle space." I agree that is important to link the vendors with local farmers but more detail needs to be hashed out. I think as an individual vendor it is difficult to manage the whole operational system but by using the aggregate of food truck vendors through market days we can help them create economies of scale.

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Cory Quach's reply to Janina 's comment

Cory Quach

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May 19, 2011, 01:38PM

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Anne-Laure Fayard

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May 19, 2011, 03:23AM

I like the idea of trying to address the issue of healthy food in low income communities (as mentioned by others, many studies show the link between low income and unhealthy food).
It is not in the context of low income communities but it is about healthy food and food trucks: see Clover Food Lab developed by a guy who wanted to deliver highly sustainable healthy food: http://www.cloverfoodlab.com/
I also think that there might be a way to think of integrating your concept with Samantha concept. She also has food trucks as part of her concept and I can see yours and hers complementing / building upon each other.
Also I like Anu's suggestion below of pairing your concept with surplus produce.

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Cory Quach's reply to Janina 's comment

Cory Quach

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May 19, 2011, 01:32PM

Thanks Anne-Laure! I will reach out to Samantha. I also did include a possible solution to Anu's recommendation to utilize surplus food to supply vendors as well. Lot's coming together. Please let me know if you think of anything else.

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Anu

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May 16, 2011, 02:05AM

As you mention, unhealthy and processed food is more convenient and cheaper, esp. for the urban poor.

In terms of cost, it would be interesting to pair this with the surplus produce from farmers' markets submission. If farmers' markets had a network of buyers available for surplus produce that doesn't get sold, these food trucks would be ideal candidates.

From a convenience perspective, in addition to selling fresh produce, full meals made of locally sourced produce would be great. It's a bit more difficult to include in a small space, but creating a place where people can get produce as well as meals (and ideas how to incorporate that produce into their own cooking) would be ideal.

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peter matzen

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May 15, 2011, 06:25PM

Good that you are trying to make it easier for people to buy fresh and healthy food! How can we make it as easy as possible for people to buy good local food? that is interesting! cool job.

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Cory Quach's reply to Janina 's comment

Cory Quach

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May 15, 2011, 06:30PM

Thanks Peter! Part of the concept is to partner local farmers with the produce truck vendors. For instance, in Pennsylvania there are quite a number of local producers. A plan needs to be implemented to connect these vendors with the local farmers. I think I need to do a better job in explaining this in the plan. Thanks for the call out.

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OpenIDEO

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May 13, 2011, 09:21AM

Way to go on making the Shortlist on the Local Food Challenge! Selecting 20 concepts out of over 600 was a tough job and we're excited to have you move through to the Refinement Phase. You can get a low-down on how the phase works over on Field Notes: http://bit.ly/refine_lowdown

Basically over the next 10 days we'd like you to further fine-tune your idea. You might explore opportunities and challenges to implementation, visualise further, expand on engagement strategies or connect various dots and details that would assist bringing your concept into fruition.

If you hit the Update This button on the right of your post, you'll see we've added 5 new fields to help you refine: Concept Builds, Actions, Project Partners, Funding Sources and Virtual Team. Check them out and feel free to keep updating your post throughout the phase – based on feedback and collaboration with fellow OpenIDEATORS and your own ideating goodness!

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Paul Fr

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May 10, 2011, 12:08PM

Why is unhealthy food more accessible? I dont know, but this concept definitely can change the situation.
It also reminds me of vending machine selling fruits in Japan. I guess the truck is a better solution for some countries.

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Melani Rae

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May 04, 2011, 02:10PM

Food trucks in some cities (DC springs to mind) are hard to come by (permits being capped). These trucks would have to get around current legislation. Perhaps by being granted special status. This is one of my favorite ideas, as it's the poor who have the worst diets, and access to education about food isn't enough if one can not afford to get to grocery stores that have affordable healthy choices.

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Melani Rae's reply to Janina 's comment

Melani Rae

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May 04, 2011, 03:38PM

(i should add that with my comment I'm thinking about the idea being able to travel across borders into other urban industrialized countries-hence the DC ref)

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Cory Quach's reply to Janina 's comment

Cory Quach

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May 10, 2011, 02:38AM

The beauty of having market days is that it serves two major stakeholders. The truck owners are able to better predict demand because they will be able to understand customers' needs and patterns on a personal level. Residents in multiple neighborhoods can be served due the to mobility and the set schedule.

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Kevin Derrick

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May 10, 2011, 02:10AM

I like that this just isn't some "pie in the sky" idea (forgive the pun) but seems to be well thought with all the financials, add-ons, etc... One thing I didn't see is how you'd spread the word about this to residents? Would it be media-based, or more of a personal approach? What would be most effective?

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Cory Quach's reply to Janina 's comment

Cory Quach

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May 10, 2011, 02:35AM

Ideally specific parts of the neighborhood would be targeted as market zones by the local government. These areas would be fairly well-known to the residents. Once that is established, marketing through schools, churches, and any community centers will attract most people. Also - since these market areas are mostly centralized and serve the local communities, targeting residents' homes with print material could be effective. I think sustainable success will develop through word-of-mouth when residents talk about the benefits of the mobile market trucks.

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Nilima Achwal

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May 05, 2011, 12:00AM

Get Fresh Detroit is exploring this idea, but they deliver to cafes and restaurants---great idea!!

http://www.getfreshdetroit.com/

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Prachi Mishra

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April 26, 2011, 09:30AM

interesting idea. reminds me a bit of the 'Amul' group that started in Gujrat to promote local dairy produce. http://www.amul.com/

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Cory Quach's reply to Janina 's comment

Cory Quach

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April 30, 2011, 07:58PM

I love their advertisements!

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Cory Quach's reply to Janina 's comment

Cory Quach

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April 30, 2011, 07:59PM

I love their advertisements!

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Erin Gibbons

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April 09, 2011, 12:31AM

Urban markets and gourmet taco trucks have popped up in many cities across the US and many have gained a cult-following via social networking and twitter.

Where I live in San Francisco, if it isn't local, organic, fair trade or sustainably farmed, it doesn't go over well. The Slow- food movement is celebrated by the folks running these mobile food trucks and the patrons who frequent them.

In Portand, there are food trucks and stands everywhere and it seems to be a great business model for many. Mercy Corps is a non-profit that does work to fight poverty globally, but they also have a program aimed at helping low-income individuals in the pacific northwest to start their own business and food carts is one of their avenues. (http://mercycorpsnw.wordpress.com/tag/food-carts/) So this program that could not only help the farmer and the urban consumer, but also help a low-income family start a business with a low overhead.

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Maya 's reply to Janina 's comment

Maya

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April 28, 2011, 05:09AM

Hi Cory,

This is a great idea! I was thinking along similar lines that it would be great if the same mobile food vendor could be your regular supplier, so you could know him or her. The vendor would get to know what sort of produce you like to cook and maybe bring you new and interesting things to try once in a while. Maybe they could tell you how to cook it, too.

I have a decent local fruit and veg shop but the problems are: it's never open when I walk past (I'm at uni long hours), there are different people working there every time so I never get to know them, and you don't feel like they have the time to have a conversation about how to cook what they're selling.

If a mobile vendor addressed these problems I would definitely use them.

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Robin Waldroup

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April 27, 2011, 04:56AM

Great concept! Lack of accessibility is a strong demotivating force. Bringing good, healthy, local food directly to the community would help break that barrier.

Additionally, I would imagine that the experience could become a social event where families in the neighborhood could commune and enjoy the experience together. These shared experiences create support around the adoption of new ideas.

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kate mcneely

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April 22, 2011, 09:40PM

There are a few of these in NY and they are popular.

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Charles McGhee Hassrick

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April 22, 2011, 04:55PM

I really like the idea of turning meat wagons into a local veggie vendors. I am wondering what you think about redesigning the tomato truck so that it is both a CSA delivery vehicle and at the same time a veggie vendor mobile? Our CSA delivers to several locations in the city several times a week. What if on non-delivery days, that truck opened its side up, parked next to a school in a low-income neighborhood and sold healthy, locally grown fruits and vegetables to students and their parents? Ooo, what if it parked on the street across from a local supermarket? Prior to entering a neighborhood, you could invite local residents and urban farmers to sell their produce as well, and invite the community to develop a menu of veggies and fruits they would love to see.

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Cory Quach's reply to Janina 's comment

Cory Quach

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April 22, 2011, 05:55PM

Very good points, Charles. The mobility is key. But each municipality is different and zoning laws need to be taken into consideration. In Philadelphia - where the food truck phenomenon has been thriving for decades, the food truck landscape has changed considerably over the years. The magic of the mobility is that each truck can be outfitted to scale according to local needs, laws, and supplies.

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Cory Quach

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April 09, 2011, 07:24AM

Thanks all for your insightful comments. @Ann I think you bring up a really important point. The important thing to remember is how do we empower residents in low-income neighborhoods to not only support such markets but to themselves become entrepreneurs and give back to the communities. This is something that I struggle with when considering bringing in non-resident business partners to under-served areas. The key is to attract a critical mass of business leaders without compromising the integrity and potential growth of low-income neighborhoods. Exploiting these neighborhoods alone will not promote sustainability. To your point, integrating such business opportunities with long term-growth is essential in building community involvement. I'm interested to hear what others may suggest in helping to align these components.

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Maia Smith's reply to Janina 's comment

Maia Smith

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April 22, 2011, 05:26AM

This article about Korean green grocers might offer some insight. What could be the role of recent immigrants that want to start low-capital businesses? http://www.city-journal.org/2011/21_1_nyc-koreans.html

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Josh Schachter

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April 19, 2011, 04:13AM

Great idea. Solutions work when they are accessible and affordable and we are creatures of convenience.

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Niko Simonson

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April 18, 2011, 04:06AM

Maybe you could set up a little kitchen and serve people a vegetable of the week. There's a woman at my farmer's market who stir fries green beans and other vegetables she's selling. You almost have to buy them after you taste how good they can be. Perhaps as part of your education portion?

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zelda harrison

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April 18, 2011, 03:36AM

Great Minds think alike! I've been turning the same thought around in mind the past few days...I really like the way you've overlaid the key idea of getting food to low income communities with practical step on stakeholder engagement.

In Los Angeles, we're having a Food Truck wave, where Trucks show up at communal events and festivals and feed the peeps! Marketing: Truck drivers have been using Twitter to keep their adoring fans abreast of their locations and next stops...

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zelda harrison's reply to Janina 's comment

zelda harrison

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April 18, 2011, 03:38AM

ps: how do i applaud this concept?

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Quyen Nguyen

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April 17, 2011, 12:38AM

Great concept. Low income families really don't have opportunities nor easy access to a variety of fresh foods. Great bridge!

What if these food trucks had a special produce/food of the week? Better price to highlight that specific product and perhaps a simple recipe could be given with each purchase?

Or a frequent buyer credit? To encourage repeat business?

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Hannah Strange

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April 14, 2011, 09:41PM

A local group in West Oakland, the People's Grocery, started out doing this. They outfitted an old fed ex truck with grocery shelves and cash registers, and a boomin' sound system. They had regular stops which included local high schools and transportation hubs, so shoppers would know where to find them. And they employed local youth so they would also teach commerce skills.

They've since outgrown the model and are now focusing on buying a grocery store, providing a CSA, and working on their new farm. But it was a great seed project to serve a low income "food desert" neighborhood!

http://www.peoplesgrocery.org/index.php?topic=aboutus

I'd encourage you to build a local commerce skill training aspect into your proposal. You could also source the food from local community gardens like People's Grocery did in the early days. And hire a local person to run the project!

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Cory Quach's reply to Janina 's comment

Cory Quach

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April 14, 2011, 09:59PM

Hannah - to your point there are so many synergies that can be built into this concept. Skill training is integral to helping community members build sustainable businesses. Capital is always the toughest. So it makes sense that People's Grocery would start off with a truck due to the low initial capital investment. Micro-financing could help community members gain loans to get off the ground.

Great feedback!

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Vincent Cheng

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April 10, 2011, 11:28PM

This (& Jason's related concept) reminds me of when I was a kid and my mom would buy produce from the back of trucks in Chinatown.

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Arjan Tupan

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April 10, 2011, 11:27AM

Cory, good concept. And there is always a creative and entrepreneurial mind to be found in any neighbourhood. I think the important thing is to put effort in finding these people and engage them.

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Ann Panopio

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April 09, 2011, 03:57AM

A food truck cruising thru the streets has the potential to be a delightful event. But I am wondering about what ought to happen first before the trucks roll into a neighborhood. It could have the potential to come off as an outsider telling the neighborhood how to live their life. Erin's idea below sounds like a great place to start integrating within a community.

Also, I think recipes and examples of different and delicious ways to cook the food could be introduced. CSA boxes often come with recipe ideas, but is there a more performative or engaging way to share information,since a truck is more spectacular than a bricks and mortar store?

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Sarah Adams

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April 09, 2011, 03:22AM

This is a great idea! It's like home milk delivery - does this still exist?

It harkens back to the way things were 60-80 years ago. When my mother was growing up in the UK in the 1940s, various vendors (dairy, meat, vegetables, staples, gadgets, recyclables, etc) had regular weekly home delivery routes, some with vehicles, some with horse and cart. Essentially, the supermarket came to your house. People had a standing order, or could phone down to the shop if they needed something more/different, and it was delivered.

This system worked because there was almost always someone home during the day. And it made sense - in terms of fuel efficiency - to have the milkman make regular rounds in each neighbourhood; s/he would deliver in my neighbourhood on Mondays, in your neighbourhood on Tuesdays, etc.

I think a big challenge nowadays is that so many people work out of the home and have varying schedules in evenings/weekends. There's nearly no time when people in a given neighbourhood would regularly be at home to take delivery. But I know when we had veggie home delivery, we left an empty tupperware box on the doorstop, which the company took and replaced with a box full of veggies. The veggie box was okay to sit for a few hours until we came home from work. Maybe there could be a way of having locked, refrigerated storage boxes for houses and/or apartments to allow for more home delivery.

I remember in an 1920s apartment building we lived in had funny little cupboards that we discovered were for in-building morning milk delivery. We could re-invent some of those older customs and habits but improve them with some newer technology (refrigeration, etc.).

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