This summer Akronites living in parts of town without nearby supermarkets will be able to shop at a grocery store that comes to them.
The city of Akron announced Thursday it will use a $175,000 grant to create a Summit Fresh Mobile Market to help people living in food deserts.
Akron will purchase a 28-foot van that will be retrofitted with refrigeration and storage bins to provide several types of groceries, including fresh, frozen and shelf-stable foods, the city said in a media release.
“We have learned that there are pockets that do not have reasonable access to fresh, healthy, affordable foods and that is creating adverse impacts to the health of our neighbors in these communities,” said Ebony Yeboah-Amankwah, executive director of Summit Fresh Mobile Market in a press release.
The market will accept several payment forms, including SNAP.
The mobile market will provide more food options and offer customers a sense of control over what they eat, said Casey Shevlin, the city’s director of sustainability and resiliency.
“This [mobile market] is about sort of interrupting [food deserts] and interjecting a mobile grocery store into that situation to make sure that those residents have choice,” Shevlin said. “They have agency. They can shop for a range of healthy foods at the mobile grocery store when it comes to their neighborhood.”
The United States Conference of Mayors and American Beverage Foundation for a Healthy America, a trade association for the nonalcoholic beverage industry, awarded Akron and eight other U.S. cities a total of $745,000 in grants for innovative initiatives that promote healthier lifestyles and advance environmental sustainability.
The Akron market plans to launch in summer 2025.