October 17, 2019
New Farmshare Austin location offers fresh for less groceries at Barbara Jordan Elementary School
(Austin, TX) – Colony Park welcomes the neighborhood’s first-ever mobile market, which opened Friday, Oct. 11. The market will sell affordable, fresh local and Texas produce every Friday next to Central Health’s mobile clinic located at Barbara Jordan Elementary.
Farmshare Austin is expanding its Fresh for Less Mobile Markets to 14 locations in the 2019-2020 market season, including Colony Park – a community lacking access to healthy foods. The nearest full-service grocery store is 2.5 miles away – across Highway 183. The market will sell fresh Texas-grown produce, local eggs, local honey, and healthy groceries from 2 – 4 p.m. every Friday.
The new mobile market will be stationed at Barbara Jordan Elementary School, located at 6711 Johnny Morris Road near the mobile health clinic operated by CommUnityCare Health Centers (open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.), and a busy Capital Metro bus stop 233 on the Northeast feeder.
“We are working to bridge a gap for immediate healthy food needs in the community,” said Heather Helman, Farmshare Austin Food Access Director. “Mobile markets meet families where they live, work, go to school or seek care, resulting in a one-stop-shop towards better community health.”
The mobile market accepts Lone Star SNAP, cash, credit and debit cards, as well as Sustainable Food Center’s Double Dollars, part of the Double Up Food Bucks program. Customers who pay with their Lone Star SNAP benefits can receive up to $30 in matching Double Dollars to purchase additional fruits and vegetables.
“With one of the highest rates of mortality, morbidity and chronic diseases in Travis County, and the lack of a major grocery store to provide quality fresh foods, we are extremely happy that Farmshare has chosen to bring its newest location to the Colony Park area,” said Barbara Scott, president of the Colony Park Neighborhood Association.
Farmshare Austin’s mobile market in Colony Park is made possible through a contract with Austin Public Health and the City of Austin. The City of Austin’s Fresh for Less initiative provides fresh, local, high-quality produce at an affordable price at numerous locations across the city.
For more information about Farmshare Austin and the Fresh for Less Mobile Markets, visit www.farmshareaustin.org