FOOD
GoingGreens
IT
IS
EASYBEINGGREEN:
SteveCasey, FreshMoves’
co-founder, inoneof
hisChicagoproducebuses
Thenonprofit
FRESHMOVES
mobileproducemarket isa
welcomeoasis inChicago’s food-desert communities.
“W
,
.
!”
SachaMcLeodhandsoutshopping
baskets as senior citizens from the
PaulG. StewartCenteronChicago’sSouthSideboard
theFreshMovesmobile producemarket.McLeod, a
FreshMovesteamleader,guidesthefirst-timeshoppers
downthebus’saisleandalongtheracksfilledwith50dif-
ferentkindsofproduce.SusanConway,64,peruses the
gleamingapples,unblemishedbananasandoverflowing
coolerofcollardgreens.Sheplacesamango inhershop-
pingbasketanddeclares,“Fruit isonthemenutonight!”
That’sararetreatforConway.Significantsectionsof
theSouthSideareconsidered fooddeserts, areaswith
littleorno convenient access togrocery stores that of-
fer the freshand low-cost foodsneeded tomaintaina
healthydiet. Fast-foodoutletsandconvenience stores
areeasytospotinthesepartsoftown,butfindingafresh
mango—orhigh-qualityfruitsorvegetablesofanykind
—hadbeendauntinguntilthenonprofitFreshMovesset
itswheels inmotion.
Launched inMay2011, FreshMovesplays a signifi-
cantrole inanationalfood-desert“caravan”movement
thatfirstgotunderwayadecadeago inCalifornia’sBay
Area. In 2003, the nonprofit People’sGrocery trans-
formedamailtruck intoasolar-andbiodiesel-powered
rollingmarket that brought freshproduce to impover-
ishedWestOaklandneighborhoods. But this “greens”
movement is justhitting itsstride, in largepartduetoa
2009DepartmentofAgriculturereportthatmappedout
thenation’sfooddeserts.About10percentofthenation’s
65,000censustractsareconsideredfooddeserts—areas
hometo23.5millionAmericans.Morethanhalfofthose
people—13.5millionof them—have low incomes, and
allareatgreaterriskofsuchseriousdiet-relateddiseases
asobesity,diabetesandheartdisease.
Since the reportwaspublished, first ladyMichelle
Obamahas trainedahighbeamon thesubject through
her “Let’sMove!” campaign to end childhoodobesity.
National retailers such asWalgreens, Walmart and
Supervaluhavepledged to increase their fresh-foodof-
feringsandpresenceinfood-desertcommunities.Local
initiativeswithsuchnamesasMoGro,Freshmobileand
Stockboxhave sprunguponwheelsand in storefronts
fromNewJersey toNewMexico. Yet theFreshMoves
model stands apart. It has been lauded (inMichelle
Obama’sbook
AmericanGrown
), copied (by fourother
46
JUNE 01, 2013
AA.COM/AMERICANWAY
