Green Machine rolls out fresh produce in South Memphis

When the Green Machine rolled through Orange Mound during the Southern Heritage Classic Parade last year, many parents saw something they never thought they’d see: Kids patiently waiting in line, eager to get their hands on some fresh fruit. “We gave out nearly 4,000 free pieces of beautiful red and green apples, oranges and peaches that day,” said Ken Reardon, Professor in the City and Regional Planning graduate program at The University of Memphis. “I would daresay we were one of the most popular floats in the parade.”

The Green Machine is a joint venture of U of M graduate students and alumni, the Vance Avenue Collaborative and Saint Patrick Community Outreach that was set into motion by a HUD Choice Neighborhoods grant. The rolling food market serves as a mobile produce stand for areas in South Memphis known as “food deserts,” USDA-defined geographic areas where affordable healthy food is difficult to obtain, particularly for those without access to a car. Since its July launch last year, the brightly painted, repurposed MATA bus now serves about 300 to 400 customers during the 18 stops it makes throughout South Memphis each week.

“The community response has been wildly enthusiastic, particularly by a lot of older people, folks with physical disabilities, women who are involved with child care and elder care and who don’t have cars,” said Reardon, who helped spearhead the project. “These are people who haven’t been able to get out to the store in months and, in some cases, years.”

A group of volunteer carpenters helped transform the interior of the bus into a welcoming retail space for the fresh fruits and vegetables provided by Easy-Way Produce Stores. The back third of the bus houses an educational corner where customers can watch videos highlighting the connection between good eating and good health.

“If you’ve been in a neighborhood where there hasn’t been easy access to healthy foods, you stop thinking about cooking with these items,” Reardon said. “So part of what the bus has to do is not only reintroduce the foods, but also reintroduce how to prepare it, how to store it and how to incorporate it into families’ regular diets.”

To that end, this spring, representatives from L'Ecole Culinaire will be doing food demonstrations next to the bus at some of the stops. The bus also will soon start making a regular stop in Court Square downtown.

“That’s going to get us a whole group of people who are in a position to understand the value of this service,” Reardon said. “We’re hoping to recruit four companies to kick in $40,000 to $50,000 a year on a rotating basis to make sure the bus can stay on the road until it’s no longer needed.”

Also in the works is the possible launch of a second Green Machine to serve a current waiting list of 13 living facilities and community centers that have requested stops.