The Mobile Farmers’ Market makes its return this month, offering a second bus and an expanded schedule — and now accepting credit cards and farmer’s market vouchers.
The market will soon accept SNAP benefits, too.
A program of the Joint Council for Economic Opportunity (JCEO) and the North Country Healthy Heart Network, the Mobile Market provides access to fresh fruit and vegetables, baked goods and a salad bar at community-based stops in Franklin and Clinton counties. Following the success of the market’s debut season in 2018, JCEO’s Food Distribution Center has purchased and converted a second bus, which will bring food to more communities.
“By adding a second Mobile Market, we get to expand our exposure to new communities and people, providing a service that they have not seen before,” said Richard Lavigne, JCEO’s food services director. “Fresh vegetables, fruit, and other food items are on the way.”
“The second bus lets us double the number of stops we can make,” said Heart Network Program Coordinator Andrea Goff. “This growth has the momentum to continue enriching the communities we serve for many years to come.”
The first bus starts June 10, serving fresh vegetables, baked goods, and a salad bar. The current schedule is as follows:
Mondays (Malone): Franklin County Courthouse, 10 to 12:15 a.m., and Citizen Advocates (125 Finney Blvd), 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.
Tuesdays (Hogansburg): Akwesasne Housing Authority, 10:30 11:45 a.m., and Akwesasne Farmer’s Market, noon to 1:30 p.m.
Wednesdays (Malone): Alice Center, 10 to 11 a.m., and Alice Hyde Hospital, 11:15 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Thursdays (Malone): Franklin County Courthouse, 10 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., and OneWorkSource, 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.
Fridays (Malone): Social Services, 10 a.m. to noon, Citizen Advocates (125 Finney Blvd), 12:15 to 1 p.m., and The Trails, 1:15 to 2 p.m.
The second bus starts June 24, serving fresh veggies and baked goods — this bus will not offer a salad bar. The current schedule is as follows:
Mondays: Yando’s (Malone), 10 a.m. noon, and Tallon’s Store (Constable), 12:30 to 2 p.m.
Tuesdays: Intersection of Rt. 37 and 122 (Westville Corners), 10 11:45 a.m., and Rainbow Park (Fort Covington), noon to 2 p.m.
Wednesdays: 1155 County Rt. 25 (Whippleville), 10 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., and the Old Catholic Church (Owl’s Head), 12:30 to 2 p.m.
Thursdays: Catholic Church (Chateaugay), 10 to 11:45 a.m., and Four Corners (Burke), noon to 2 p.m.
Fridays: Methodist Church (Lyon Mountain), 10 a.m. to noon, and Four Corners (Brainardsville), 12:15 to 2 p.m.
The Mobile Market is made possible with support from Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, Cornell Cooperative Extension’s SHINE program, and the New York State Department of Health’s Creating Healthy Schools & Communities program.
Excellus’s Community Health Awards support programs that have clear goals to improve the health or health care of specific populations. Grants focus on improving the health status of a community, reducing the incidence of specific diseases, promoting health education and enhancing overall wellness.
Creating Healthy Schools and Communities is a coordinated, multi-sector initiative designed to increase demand for and access to healthy, affordable foods and opportunities for daily physical activity in high-need school districts and their associated communities.
SHINE — Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Senior’s Health Improvement and Nutrition Education program — offers free health improvement and nutrition education for seniors living in New York state.
For more information about JCEO, visit www.jceo.org.
For more information about the North Country Healthy Heart Network, visit www.heartnetwork.org.
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