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The produce and non-perishable items are being sold "for as low a price as you are going to find anywhere," TMC Director of Innovation Brendan Cossette noted during a presentation before the Jackson County Legislature on Monday, July 23. The Mobile Market is being funded through grants and donations, he explained, with support coming from the Healthcare Foundation of Greater Kansas City, Kansas City Power & Light, Menorah Legacy Foundation, Metcalf Bank, JE Dunn, James B. Nutter & Company, the Kansas City Parks & Recreation Department and Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA).
The KCATA donated the 40-foot bus, replacing the passenger seats with 84 food bins and a stainless steel counter. "We now basically have a rolling grocery store," said Cossette.
All forms of payment, excluding checks, are accepted on the Mobile Market. In addition to the food, dieticians and nutritionists are on board to offer expert advice for eating a healthier diet.
"People obviously need access to healthy food," stated Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders. "It's necessary to having a healthy lifestyle, longevity -- everything we would want to have for the citizens of our community."
He added, "Our partnership with Truman Medical Centers is, no pun intended, bearing fruit for the citizens of Jackson County."
TMC treats numerous patients who have chronic conditions that can be improved if not entirely eliminated through eating a better diet.
"We think it is our mission to not only treat the patients at our hospital," said Cossette, "but to also try and improve the overall health of our entire community."
The model for the Mobile Market was the successful Fresh Moves program launched in Chicago after a 2006 report revealed "food deserts" were a growing problem in the Windy City.
The USDA defines a "food desert" as a "low-income census tract" where a substantial number of residents have limited access to a supermarket. To be declared a "food desert" a geographical area must meet the following criteria:
- To qualify as a "low-income community," a census tract must have either: 1) a poverty rate of 20 percent or higher, OR 2) a median family income at or below 80 percent of the area's median family income;
- To qualify as a "low-access community," at least 500 people and/or at least 33 percent of the census tract's population must reside more than one mile from a supermarket or large grocery store (for rural census tracts, the distance is more than 10 miles).
According to the Federal Healthy Food Financing Initiative, residents in a "food desert" often have limited transportation and "rely on fast food restaurants and convenience stores that offer little or no fresh food."
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Every Tuesday
9:00 a.m. - Noon
Jackson County Courthouse
415 E. 12th Street
Kansas City, Missouri 64106
(Bus parks behind the courthouse
at 13th & Locust)
12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Linwood Shopping Center
31st & Prospect
Kansas City, Missouri 64128
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Tony Aguirre Community Center
2050 W. Pennway Terrance
Kansas City, Missouri 64128
3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater KC
Thornberry Unit
3831 E. 43rd Street
Kansas City, Missouri 64130
Every Thursday
9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
Jackson County Courthouse Annex
308 W. Kansas
Independence, Missouri 64050
10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Northwest CDC
(formerly Fairmount Community Center)
217 S. Cedar Avenue
Independence, Missouri 64052
Noon - 2:00 p.m.
Hillcrest Community Center
10401 Hillcrest Road
Kansas City, Missouri 64134
2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Samuel U. Rodgers
825 Euclid Avenue
Kansas City, Missouri 64124
4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Southeast Community Center
4201 E. 63rd Street
Kansas City, Missouri 64130
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