Politico has a story about how Atlanta has worked to solve a lack of access to healthy food by coming up with a unique solution - pop-up produce stands located in the city's transit system.
According to the story, "Since 2015, Atlanta commuters using some of the city’s metro stations have been able to buy fresh produce at pop-up markets inside or just outside the station. The program, Fresh MARTA Market, is the city’s solution to a persistent food-access problem in Atlanta’s poorer communities where fresh food is often scarce and the incidence of diet-related illnesses is high. One in 3 adults in Atlanta are obese and three-quarters do not eat the recommended daily servings of vegetable or fruit, according to a 2017 study by the Food Well Alliance."
In 2018, the story says, the program "sold 46,000 pounds of produce, most of it from local urban farmers - an increase from the first year, when it sold 8,000 pounds and returned almost $8,000 to local farmers … The markets allow small farmers - there are an estimated 52 urban farms and 300 community gardens in the city - to sell their produce wholesale to MARTA without having to sell it individually or the hassle of selling to co-ops or school systems."
According to the story, "Since 2015, Atlanta commuters using some of the city’s metro stations have been able to buy fresh produce at pop-up markets inside or just outside the station. The program, Fresh MARTA Market, is the city’s solution to a persistent food-access problem in Atlanta’s poorer communities where fresh food is often scarce and the incidence of diet-related illnesses is high. One in 3 adults in Atlanta are obese and three-quarters do not eat the recommended daily servings of vegetable or fruit, according to a 2017 study by the Food Well Alliance."
In 2018, the story says, the program "sold 46,000 pounds of produce, most of it from local urban farmers - an increase from the first year, when it sold 8,000 pounds and returned almost $8,000 to local farmers … The markets allow small farmers - there are an estimated 52 urban farms and 300 community gardens in the city - to sell their produce wholesale to MARTA without having to sell it individually or the hassle of selling to co-ops or school systems."
- KC's View:
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This is a specific response to a specific problem … but it seems to me it illustrates a broader issue. Consumers of all kinds have a wide variety of options when it comes to buying food, but the options that may have the greatest relevance and resonance may be the ones that bring food to them.
That can mean pop-up produce stands. It can mean delivery or click-and-collect. And it can mean replenishment programs that anticipate customer needs by being synched to behavior and data. But it won't be about just building a store and opening the doors … that's inadequate to the moment, to say the least.
