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FMC Highlights Hub City Farmers Market
Posted on August 4th, 2011. Filed under National Farmers Market Week.
In a city where less than 20% of residents eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day, the Hub City Farmers Market (HCFM) is a nonprofit organization operating a Saturday, Wednesday, and Mobile Market within the city limits of Spartanburg, South Carolina. The market is producer-only, meaning that everything sold is grown or produced by the vendor selling it.
Hub City is an apt name for a market that facilitates so many activities in the community, engaging citizens in both through nutrition education and physical activities. The market facilitates donations of excess fruits and vegetables to local soup kitchens, and encourages volunteerism from among the community leaders. Through its community gardening program, the HCFM also provides technical assistance in the location, soil amendment , planting, and harvesting of shared gardens that allow people of all income levels to grow nutritious food for their families.
- A shopper selects produce at one of four stops of the Hub City Mobile Market, which efficiently brings local produce right into Spartanburg neighborhoods where residents have few other healthful food options.
But that’s not all. HCFM also brings fresh locally grown food right into neighborhoods with the highest need. “By partnering with the faith-based community, schools, and city leadership, the Mobile Market is bringing fresh food right to those in under-served communities. It stops in all four communities where HCFM is working on childhood obesity initiatives, at least once a month,” says market manager Nikki Smith. Multiple partners have made grants to the market, allowing them to purchase and retrofit a colorful step van to visit low-income neighborhoods and churches on Sundays. The Mobile Market van even pulls the ‘Hub Cycle’ trailer bike program. Patrons are allowed to borrow bikes, helmets, and locks for a $15 refundable deposit.
The Hub City Mobile Market and Trailer
Analysis of surveys conducted at the Hub City Farmers Market found the market’s economic impact on the community to be more than $1.2 million annually.
Visit the Hub City Farmers Market online at www.hubcityfm.org.