Thanks to funds made available through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and administered by Tarrant County, Arlington Charities is taking a fresh approach to defeating hunger by rolling out a new “Mobile Market” truck, the first of its kind for Arlington’s largest hunger relief organization. The new Mobile Market will deliver nutritious food to low-income neighborhoods, many classified as food deserts, with limited or no access to grocery stores.
About the size of an ambulance, one side of the Mobile Market is equipped with refrigerators to store fresh dairy and produce options and the other will feature produce and bakery items. Additionally, staff and volunteers managing the Mobile Market will make nutritional education, access to SNAP benefits and case management available.
As Arlington’s largest food pantry, Arlington Charities has been serving Arlington and Tarrant County residents since 1978. All services are free to qualified individuals, families and homeless neighbors in need. Click here to learn more about Arlington Charities.
The mobile market will be stocked using a combination of donated and purchased food to ensure quality and diversity of products remain focused on fresh and nutritious product choice. Since it will be a client choice shopping experience, food waste should be reduced.
A staff member will supervise service at the community partner locations. The truck may make multiple stops per day at locations such as apartment complexes, schools, community centers, college campuses and senior residential facilities within our service area. In addition to increased nutritious food availability, clients will have opportunities to receive nutrition education, case management, and information/referrals at mobile market locations.
The food insecurity rate in Tarrant County is 18.1%, which is 2.7% above the national average. Additionally, 36% of these residents don’t qualify for government programs. More than 90,000 people in Arlington received help from Arlington Charities last year.
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