In the 100 days since the start of the COVID-19 crisis in Boston, About Fresh has turned our initial scrappy response into a sophisticated and scalable system that’s getting more food to the households that need it than we have ever delivered before.

How we got here

We designed a door-to-door delivery system

-We scaled last-mile delivery operations by connecting our Fresh Connect platform to a delivery technology platform. This enabled us to enroll high-need households through health systems, community partners, and the City of Boston to ensure more than 5,000 households a week were getting fresh, healthy food at the right address at the right time. 

Our partners stepped up and worked fast

-We partnered with the City of Boston to develop a shared enrollment system for households at the highest risk for the virus.

-Our wholesale food distributor, Katsiroubas Bros, stood up the Fresh Box sourcing and packing operation. 

-Brigham Health enrolled patients through COVID-19 testing sites to enable them to stay home and limit spread. 

-After hearing that we were in need of last-mile delivery support, CEO of Gourmet Caterers, Bob Wiggins offered to leverage the Payroll Protection Program funds they had received to keep his staff employed making Fresh Box deliveries. 

-And more than 300 people from Boston communities stepped up and collectively volunteered more than 2,300 hours to support door-to-door Fresh Box deliveries!

We redesigned the Fresh Truck mobile market model

-Two-weeks after statewide COVID-19 lockdown went into effect, the Fresh Truck team, headed up by Megan Huang, launched our Fresh Truck Open Air Mobile Markets across seven Boston sites. 

-Over three-months of operating Open Air markets, we have processed more than 2,800 transactions, 90% of which were SNAP.

Moving Forward

The work is not over. COVID-19 remains a threat across the city while the economic crisis continues to hit hard. Our low-income communities of color will be hit hardest on both fronts. Our programs are built to last and we will continue to adapt to new needs and new circumstances. 

Here’s what our team is doing next:

Expanding ‘Open Air’ Fresh Truck markets – As restrictions begin to lift we are working with our neighborhood partners to launch additional market sites for shoppers to use their SNAP and P-EBT funds on food. We are working to add 10 additional market sites to the schedule before the end of the year. 

Healthcare system integration – Food insecurity continues to be a strategic priority for health systems. We are accelerating the development of our Fresh Connect platform to meet the needs of health systems and their patients with upgraded features and a streamlined patient enrollment process.

Fresh Connect delivery integration – COVID-19 has expedited the need for Fresh Connect to be integrated into commercial grocery delivery systems. The Fresh Connect team has launched the exploration that will make it possible for Fresh Connect shoppers to order grocery delivery online using their Fresh Connect card. 

Food security is a crucial part of public health emergency and economic crisis response. The ability to put food on the table can make all the difference in times of fear and uncertainty. We need your support to continue to build programs that will carry our communities through this pandemic right now and into the future. 

Get to know Adam Shyevitch, About Fresh’s new Chief Program Officer. Adam joined us this November to lead our program strategy and continue to build the About Fresh team for success.

What made you excited to join the About Fresh team?

A powerful vision for social change makes a difference in people’s lives when it inspires excellent implementation and constant learning. About Fresh has that powerful vision, and I’m thrilled to join a team already so dedicated to making that difference, continuing to learn, and doing our best every day for our shoppers and their communities.

Tell us about how you’ve spent your career so far.

I’ve been fortunate to lead and build teams across healthcare delivery, affordable housing development and youth services. Most recently, I was a Principal at Health Leads, a national organization that partners with communities and health systems to address the systemic causes of health inequity and disease.

What are you excited to get to work on?

I’m excited about it all! The Fresh Truck is a great way to deliver healthy fruit and vegetables to people who need it most, and Fresh Connect promises to deliver an unprecedented connection between personal healthcare goals and community health priorities. We’ve just started tapping the potential of these programs. There is a huge opportunity to expand them to serve more households in more places across the city. The future is really exciting!

What is your favorite food memory?

I’ve got so many! But right now, I’m in the mood for warm, buttered toast with a schmear of sweet halva. Halva is a middle eastern spread made of sesame seeds, sugar, and sometimes a bit of chocolate. Every bite holds happy childhood memories. mmmm. Now I’m hungry!

We are growing and planning to hire for additional roles through the beginning of 2020. Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on new positions at About Fresh.

Organizational Overview

About Fresh is a Boston area nonprofit on a mission to improve health outcomes in low-income communities by getting healthy food to the households that need it most. Our programs are built to be integrated into community healthcare systems and scaled to the 15 million food-insecure households in the United States.

Programs

• Fresh Truck mobile markets bring affordable, healthy food closer to low-income communities
• Fresh Connect is a software platform that enables health care providers to prescribe food as medicine and analyze health-related impacts

Job Description

Market Managers are the face of Fresh Truck in our communities, they make the shopping experience for our customers delightful and unique. This role requires a diverse skill set blending food purveyor, truck driver, and customer service representative. We’re looking for someone with an unrelenting passion for community building and food.

What you’ll do:

• Drive a full-size, 39ft school bus
• Manage daily mobile market operations from bus loading/unloading, inventory management, restocking, to cleaning
• Create an inviting shopping experience through engaging customer service
• Manage market support staff of youth employees and volunteers
• Support other Fresh Truck initiatives such as community outreach, customer surveys, and
  operations process improvement

Who you are

• An excellent driver, accustomed to driving in an urban environment; strong preference for individuals with experience driving box trucks and large vehicles
• You’re willing to get your hands dirty, comfortable with some heavy lifting and will stop at nothing to make things happen
• Embrace working within diverse community settings and with a strong sense of social justice; being multilingual (Spanish, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Cantonese, Mandarin) is huge a plus

Requirements

• Driver’s license with clean driving record for the past 3 years
• Ability to lift ~50lb on a regular basis
• Positive attitude and willingness to learn

Compensation and Benefits

• Competitive, experience-based salary: $40,000-$45,000 annually
• Full medical, dental, and vision insurance, full-time only
• Free groceries every shift
• Work day in and day out to make Boston a healthier city

To apply email your resume and a short note telling us why you’re excited about the job with the subject line “Market Manager candidate” to jobs@aboutfresh.org.

When it comes to the process of naming our mobile markets, we look for people who have had a significant impact on the organization’s life. We had the opportunity to interview Pamela Hoyt, whose been an incredible advocate for Fresh Truck and an outstanding community organizer.

You’ve been involved with Fresh Truck for 4 years now. How did you originally become involved with Fresh Truck?

Well, I was working with Rosie’s Place by Franklin Field at the time. One of my duties was to get folks organized to get on the truck to get their food; I would hand out Fresh Truck cards and make sure five people were on the truck at a time. I started working with Alex (a former employee) and we cliqued very well. When Josh and Annika wanted to make videos for Fresh Truck, Alex and I would work together to gather people for them. I started volunteering after that and this was four years ago.  

We love sharing memories. Do you have a favorite Fresh Truck memory?

One time, one event was when I first met Josh. Him and Alex came down to the senior center by Franklin Field. We were making videos with the produce from the truck: fruit salads. We made an afternoon out of it. Josh got to know the seniors better with this event. They weren’t afraid to go inside and meet folks who were using the truck and have conversations. It was really nice. 

We’re very grateful for the support you’ve given us throughout the years and love your advocacy. What does it mean to you as a community organizer to have Fresh Truck in your neighborhood?

It’s very hard for seniors to get food. I like the idea of Fresh Truck coming to different communities. It makes it easy to buy fruits and vegetables. The truck is very available and makes it so that seniors didn’t have to walk or catch a bus. Everyone who works on the truck gets to know the people in the community and they become one of us.   

As you know, all our mobile markets have names that have a significant meaning. How did you feel when you learned our newest mobile market would be named after you?

I was thrilled! When I received the call from Annika to let me know that I was in the running, I was so excited. When I read the bio Annika wrote about me, I started to cry and I was so touched that they even thought of and asked me. As an organizer, I never knew people cared about the work I was doing. I was so happy that someone appreciated the work that I do. When I looked at the list of five names, I thought it would be hard because I was running against Ayanna Pressley. I shared the news at work and my co-workers also thought it would be hard, but the director of our organization sent out email blasts and it was like an election; it was very fun and it was great. Our organization works with a lot of different organizations, so a lot of people were voting. I sent the voting link to my friend in Denmark, who ended up voting and they sent it to their friends too! When I talked to Josh, he said he didn’t know what I did, but I was winning by a landslide. I am so honored.