Fresh Food Hub Launches Kickstarter Campaign to Expand Mobile Food Service

After almost two years of going corner to corner in low-income neighborhoods such as Mantua and Belmont, Fresh Food Hub launched a Kickstarter campaign to expand its service to other parts of the city. The fundraising goal of $9,773 was exceeded yesterday, and there are still three days left to donate.

The Fresh Food Hub connects West Philadelphia residents with local food suppliers by selling fresh produce from a converted delivery truck. It’s kind of like a mobile corner store, but with fresh fruits and vegetables.

The organization began as an extension of Preston’s Paradise, an all-volunteer  food resource organization based in Mantua. It expanded through a partnership with the Greensgrow Philadelphia Project in 2011. The larger urban farming organization provides accounting and insurance services. The mobile program started in spring 2012 with the purchase of an old bread delivery truck.

Ryan Kuck of Preston’s Paradise said that a large portion of the donations will go towards hiring an additional part-time worker, and about $2,000 will pay for the retrofit of another delivery truck. Organizers are talking to the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging (PCA) about choosing locations in North and South Philadelphia that could benefit the city’s elderly.

Kuck added that Fresh Food Hub now earns about 50 percent of its income. “Our goal is 75% by the end of next year,” he said.