Author: Annika

The Fresh Truck team is pleased to announce that we have officially locked down a headquarters at 103 Terrace street in Roxbury, aptly dubbed- “The Barn.” 103 Terrace was previously occupied by What’s Cookin at Mississipi’s- a beloved Boston Restaurant and catering service. The space was renovated by our friends at Maple Hurst Builders Inc.  Come through and check us out!

-Jt

Hey,

Josh and I attended the MassChallenge Awards Ceremony this evening with Boston Rising.  It was held at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center (BCEC) which, by the way, is an amazing venue!

MassChallenge is the largest-ever startup accelerator and competition, and the first to support high-impact, early-stage entrepreneurs with no strings attached. They gave out over $1M in awards this evening.  You can learn more about MassChallenge at http://masschallenge.org/ and see who won the 2012 competition at http://masschallenge.org/blog/awards-ceremony-liveblog.

The highlight of the night was Governor Deval Patrick’s keynote speech.  He spoke to Massachusetts’ leading position as a global hub for entrepreneurship and innovation and was extremely inspiring!

Congrats to all the winners!

Daniel

Exciting news!

Last weekend Fresh Truck won a business plan competition sponsored by Boston Rising and the Center for Women and Enterprise.  The Q Contest was an eight-week long competition and technical assistance program.  We come away with $5,000 and some great insight on our business model.

This is our first major financial support and we could not be more grateful to the groups supporting us and investing in our mission.  Both organizations do great work locally, check out their info below:

Boston Rising – http://bostonrising.org/

Center for Women and Enterprise – http://www.cweonline.org/

Best,

DC

Hey!

Fresh Truck will be tabled at the Millennium Campus Conference at Northeastern University tomorrow.  It is a great event focused around helping ventures with social missions gain exposure, learn from great entrepreneurs, and network with amazing organizations.

Some of the speakers include:

Leymah Gbowee – 2011 Nobel Peace Prize Winner

Paul Farmer – Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Partners in Health

Jeffrey Sachs – Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University

For more information regarding the conference and to buy tickets visit: http://www.mcc2012.org/

BIG Thanks to Northeastern University for donating a table to Fresh Truck!

Daniel

Hello world,

My goal for this blog is basic.  I want to keep everyone updated on what the Fresh Truck is up to.  I will try to update as often as possible so long as I can keep the content somewhat entertaining.

I’d like to start by highlighting the problem Fresh Truck is addressing.

These are all sad, but true, facts:

• Massachusetts has fewer supermarkets per capita than almost any other state.
• Boston has 30% fewer supermarkets per capita compared to the national average.
• An uneven distribution of supermarkets leaves a disproportionate number of lower-income people without access to nutritious food.
• Lower income residents of Massachusetts are likely to suffer from obesity and other diet-related health problems at rates significantly higher than those of the population as a whole.
• MA spends an estimated $1.8 billion treating obesity-related illness.
• Lifestyle and environmental factors account for almost 70% of the average person’s health, yet only 4% of national health expenditures are focused on healthy behaviors.
• 1/3 of school children in MA are overweight or obese by the time they reach the first grade.
• 58% of the all MA residents are overweight or obese.

The lack of supermarkets in many lower-income communities means that residents rely heavily on corner and convenience stores with higher prices and lower-quality foods or travel long distances to purchase nutritious foods. Diets that rely on food from convenience stores are often higher in sugar and fat, contributing to obesity and other diet-related disease.

What is Fresh Truck’s Mission?

The Fresh Truck seeks to eliminate food deserts and mitigate diet-related health issues within the city of Boston by making fresh produce accessible and affordable for all individuals.

Okay, so I just realize that this blog is getting pretty long and I still haven’t even explained what Fresh Truck is.  So here I go……

The Solution:

Fresh Truck

• A retrofitted school bus that serves as a mobile farmers market, selling fresh fruits, vegetables, and other healthy eating options to multiple underserved communities each day
• A tiered pricing model that helps subsidize prices for the individuals who need it most
• Structured, collaborative partnerships with a broad range of CBOs, public sector agencies, and grassroots community leaders to streamline service delivery and maximize community impact
• Interactive, educational programming that allows customers to engage with the food and its source, learn more about the benefits of maintaining a healthy diet, and discuss strategies to make healthy living easy

And that’s Fresh Truck……..for now.

Thanks to everyone for their support!  Please feel free to contact me at dan@thefreshtruck.org with any questions, comments, concerns, inquiries, etc.

Thanks!

Daniel