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Mobile Farmers Market Offers Healthy Food To Neighborhoods With Limited Access

BOSTON (CBS) – Offering fresh, healthy food for sale in neighborhoods where that's not always easy to find is the mission of the new Mobile Farmers Market.

It's all locally grown, and the prices are affordable. The project organizers say it can help build healthier lives, and customers couldn't agree more.

"I will come and purchase some eggplants, all kinds of things," says Cheree Smith.

"There's a big difference between this locally grown produce versus what you see in Stop and Shop," says Duchess Cook.

"Fresh food coming off a farm, you know what I'm saying? It tastes different," adds Sonja Dixon.

Smith, Cook and Dixon are just three of the customers we met today when the Mobile Farmers Market made its regular stop at the Whittier Street Health Center in Roxbury.

Farmers Market
The Mobile Farmers Market. (WBZ-TV)

This new kind of food truck is the brainchild of the non-profit Trustees of Reservations which runs several community farms.

"We're bringing fresh, local food from our farms and other Massachusetts farms to neighborhoods in Boston where we know there's limited access to fresh foods," says Cathy Wirth the Trustees agricultural program director.

Access is limited because of cost, or because there aren't supermarkets in the area.

"Which means they're buying their food in places like corner stores, gas stations, bodegas where there's not a lot of fresh food," says Wirth.

The farmers market on wheels makes regular stops at community centers with a reliable supply of milk, eggs, meat and veggies.

"I think it's great and I think they should do it more because it makes people healthier," says customer Smith.

Farmers Market
A customer visits the Mobile Farmers Market. (WBZ-TV)

It's an innovative way to get food directly from farms to neighborhoods.

"Having access here is way more convenient than driving around. It's already here. You might as well pick up something healthy for yourself," says Jesmar Diaz, one of today's shoppers.

"There's some people who really can't go to the stores and get these things. So to have something out her for the public, is fantastic," adds Dixon.

You also get the kind of personal interaction that you don't always get in big markets. During the time WBZ-TV were with the truck today people were trading recipes and ideas for healthy eating.

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