Mobile grocery store will soon be ready to roll in the Housing Authority
BOWLING GREEN, Ky.- Accessing fresh and healthy foods in poor neighborhoods is often a struggle, and sometimes it’s impossible. The Bowling Green Housing Authority is looking to make it easier for the people in those communities to get fresh fruit, veggies and other whole food with a mobile grocery store.
The converted school bus used to seat up to 34 passengers, and now it’s filled with shelves and a freezer that will soon carry eggs, bread, meat and lots of fresh fruits and vegetables.
People who live in food deserts often don’t know when they will be able to buy food, and sometimes they run out.
“A lot of us don’t have family because they’re busy. So, we’re just making it day by day, and trying to have enough food to eat to survive,” housing authority resident Sharon Heald said.
For some people it can take up to an hour to get to the nearest grocery store using public transportation. So some people don’t buy groceries that often.
“Maybe twice a month, once with the hospitality and every now and then my daughter will take me,” Heald said.
People who live in food deserts can’t make it to the grocery store as often. With the mobile grocery store, which will be up and running beginning in March, people can buy groceries while still at home.
“We’ll have cheese, cereal, we’ll also have some household items like laundry detergent, dish soap,” said Joyce Perry, Bowling Green resident.
Warren County Public Schools donated the bus to the Housing Authority. Once a typical school bus, it’s now decorated to be easily recognizable. The bus will deliver food four to six days a week in areas with public housing, BG Towers, Lee Pointe and several other areas.
“The community has really come together with this holistic approach of trying to solve the need of being in a food desert here. Being able to get fresh, affordable produce is also a great need in the community,” said Katie Miller, special projects director for the Housing Authority of Bowling Green.
