FOOD BUS + FOOD RX = BETTER EATING

Fresh Truck is a mobile supermarket that delivers nutritious foods to people who lack access. The shelves of the old bus are stocked with fresh fruits and vegetables and devoid of salt- and sugar-laden processed foods; shoppers can use cash, debit/credit, and EBT state welfare benefit payment cards. Fresh Truck and a second school bus-based market makes 11 stops throughout Boston each week, mostly in low-income neighborhoods and food deserts where residents lack access to fresh foods. In 2015, Fresh Truck added FreshRx to its delivery system. FreshRx accepts “prescription” gift cards from local partners in exchange for produce. Through the program, healthcare partners identify a group of patients who receive a FreshRx card for $10 per week in groceries. Health centers and social service agencies across Boston—including Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital, Boston Medical Center HealthNet Plan, and Boston Centers for Youth and Families—underwrite the program.

Source: Civil Eats, 7/27/17, Mobile Food Prescriptions