The executive director of Fresh Express, a nonprofit produce market in a refurbished city bus, said the mobile produce market is paving the way for a new business model in Phoenix.
Elyse Guidas said the bus opened in early 2014 after plans to renovate the bus and create a door-to-door grocery store. It offers organic fruits and vegetables to people who would not have the opportunity for healthy, fresh food otherwise, she said.
Fresh Express travels along the light rail corridor in a 24-square-mile radius. Guidas said it is an asset-rich area with the Arizona State University and University of Arizona downtown campuses, as well as the airport and the light rail, yet residents in the area do not have access to fresh, healthy, affordable food.
Guidas said downtown Phoenix is often classified as a “food desert,” but said Fresh Express is helping to cultivate a new trend in the food and business industry.
“We try and target areas that don’t have access to a grocery store, or maybe transportation is difficult, or maybe we can save them a trip to the grocery story so they can spend more time with their family at the end of the day,” Guidas said.
Related: Is downtown Phoenix any closer to getting a grocery store near its core?
Fresh Express tries to cover downtown Phoenix with regular stops at the Salvation Army, the Orpheum Theater and the ASU Downtown Campus. Guidas said Fresh Express has a lot of success at senior centers and elementary schools, in particular.
“We want to make sure everybody in that area, regardless of income, has healthy, fresh produce,” Guidas said.
Jeff Kuhens, a Fresh Express sales associate, said it is “neat what we do” because Fresh Express “practically comes to your door.”
Kuhens said he believes this gives Fresh Express an advantage over the average grocery store, adding, “I think we have an advantage because we are bringing a lot of quality stuff basically to your front door and, again, at lower cost than most stores.”
Guidas said Fresh Express’s one-on-one customer approach and teaching opportunities are aspects the average grocery store cannot offer customers.
Fresh Express’ prices are below market value, and as a nonprofit, they cover the cost of their own produce, Guidas said. In the company’s first year of sales, the mobile market sold $50,000 worth of produce and produce costs were $49,000.
One reason for Fresh Express’ success is their partnerships with businesses and community members, Guidas said.
“We have had a very successful first year and I think one of the coolest things that makes our model unique, that makes our model successful, is the ability to pull in partners and pull in businesses,” Guidas said. “We have a lot of support and we really make sure that the businesses and the community alike are brought into this process.”
Fresh Express has partnerships with Peddler’s Son Produce, Blue Sky Organic Farms and First Transit. Guidas said she is working on creating partnerships with local growers as well.
“Having those types of partnerships make us successful,” Guidas said. “It makes us viable. We are starting to come up with a really sustainable model for how to make a program like this applicable.”
Kuhens said he doesn’t know why there are not more buses or people mimicking their model already.
Link: Fresh Express’ schedule through December (PDF courtesy of Fresh Express)
Garrett Gutierrez, a manager at a Phoenix Sprouts Farmers Market, said that he doesn’t think that mobile markets are something that will affect their business.
“It might not affect us, we might see a little of a decline in produce, but nothing that will get us hurting,” Gutierrez said.
However, Gutierrez said that he believes it is very important to provide fresh produce to those who might not get it otherwise.
“If you cannot afford it, it is nice to know that you can still get the healthy things that you need,” he said. “Produce has a lot of vitamins and nutrients that you need.”
Guidas said Fresh Express will continue to increase access and availability of fresh, healthy produce to Phoenix residents as long as there is a demand for organic food and a need for affordable prices.
This health movement around the nation, which promotes eating organic and fresh food, has had an impact on their business, Guidas said.
“People are really starting to realize what they put in their bodies manifests in how they feel,” she said. “But I don’t think that message really reaches a lot of low-income and low-access communities, and that’s not really fair.”
“I think it is important for our customers to believe in those statistics and to understand the importance of healthy eating and to have the outlet to meet that need,” Guidas said. “But I also think that we have an unique opportunity to help create that demand as well, especially in areas that haven’t had access to fresh produce in decades.”
Contact the reporter at ellanna.koontz@asu.edu
