Now that Fresh Truck has been on the road for a few years we get a lot of questions about how we make decisions about how to operate the market and design our programs. To answer these questions and many more we are starting a blog series called ‘This is how we roll’. This month we will cover how we develop our new weekly market schedule.
Developing our new schedule
It’s that time of year again; we’re launching our new weekly market schedule September 24th! We’re excited for the opportunity to meet the demand for fresh food in our current neighborhoods, as well as in neighborhoods we aren’t currently serving. Three times a year, we make adjustments to our weekly market schedule to make sure that we’re having the greatest possible impact. We first evaluate our current weekly market sites and then consider new potential sites.
Evaluating current sites
We use shopper engagement to evaluate the success of a weekly market stop. We want to make sure that enough people are shopping with Fresh Truck that it makes sense for us to stay at a certain weekly market site. For stops with low engagement, we work with our site partner to brainstorm ways to bring out more shoppers. For stops with high engagement, we work with our site partner to expand market hours.
Evaluating new sites
There are two main ways that we identify potential new weekly market stops.
- Inbound requests – Organizations or community members request a Fresh Truck weekly market in their area.
- Outbound requests – We approach partners in neighborhoods where there is low access to fresh, affordable food.
We consider several factors that may affect the viability of a stop when making our new schedule:
- Distance from current weekly market stops – Because we have a limited number of weekly market hours to spread across the week, we choose sites that are strategically-placed relative to our existing weekly market sites.
- Level of need – We target areas with high SNAP (Food Stamps) user density or where there is limited access to fresh, affordable food.
- Parking – We drive a big bus, and need a place to park it. We rely on our partners to provide a space for us. An off-the-street parking lot is ideal, but partners can also block off a space on the street on the morning of the market.
- Partner capacity – Strong partners can provide things like translation services and outreach, and can use their expertise about the community to support the success of the market.
- Scheduling – At every schedule change, we piece together the current and new weekly markets to accommodate each partner’s time and day preferences.
- Food programs – We are mindful of how federal or state food programs may affect our shopper’s purchasing behavior.
After running a couple test events and getting feedback from our partners and shoppers, we piece together our new weekly market schedule and share it with everyone. Look out for our new schedule Monday, September 24th!