By Lorraine Dufour for The Farmers’ Truck
As an independent grocer, your community ties extend far beyond the walls of your store. So why should your goods be confined to those walls?
This is where a mobile market truck comes in.
Increasing access to healthy food by bringing it directly to those who need it could transform your business and your community.
Mobile markets offer those invested in community well-being an additional and alternative means of providing people with healthy food and strengthening community ties.
Meet The Farmers’ Truck: Your Partner in Healthy Food Access
A member of the National Grocers Association, The Farmers’ Truck is a pioneer in the mobile market truck industry. We sell mobile market trucks and support mobile market operators. As partners to independent grocers, we are thrilled to help you expand your reach and increase your sales.
Years ago, The Farmers’ Truck began as a mobile farmers’ market. We had a truck and a dream to increase fresh food access and support the local food system. Now we help others do the same.
Healthy food access is our passion. Taking healthy food on the road was our solution to the common barriers that many people face when it comes to hunger and healthy eating:
- Accessibility
- Availability
- Affordability
- Accommodation
- Acceptability
Mobile market trucks offer their operators the ideal opportunity to help mitigate these issues for community residents.
What Is a Mobile Market Truck
If you’re not familiar with mobile markets, that’s OK. They’re quite a unique offering when it comes to food access.
The idea is simple: Instead of having people come to you for their goods, why not bring those goods to them? Think of it more like a farmers’ market on wheels rather than a food truck.
Mobile market trucks go by several other names:
- Mobile farmers’ market
- Mobile food pantry
- Mobile produce market
- Mobile fruit and vegetable truck
- Mobile grocer
The focus for mobile markets is to increase the consumption of fresh, healthy food for everyone, everywhere.
Healthy, happy communities are strong, prosperous communities. Mobile markets are another way for you to help achieve just that for your community. They allow you to expand your customer base without having to expand your physical location.
The Ultimate Mobile Market Truck Design
At The Farmers’ Truck, we pride ourselves on our intuitive, human-centered truck design. For us, this meant removing any barriers for customers and operators ensuring an inclusive, welcoming design that fosters close ties with those you serve – your community.
We understand that food costs are an ongoing concern for independent grocers. With features like a battery-operated truck box and refrigerated spaces, you won’t have to worry about food spoilage and waste. Our thoughtfully planned display area lets you show off your colorful produce and watch it fly off the shelves.
Our mobile market trucks are large enough to hold a wide selection of goods (including meat and dairy) and everything you need to sell them. Yet the trucks compact enough to park and drive in tight, busy areas, and no commercial driver’s license is required to drive them.
How a Mobile Market Complements Your Grocery Business
Imagine operating and selling your goods at local gathering places such as town fairs, schools or healthcare centers.
Or imagine the smiles on people’s faces when they see your mobile market truck brimming with colorful produce and local goods parked near their workplace just as they were wondering what to bring home for dinner.
These are just some of the opportunities that operating a mobile market can create for your business. It allows you to reach more people and increase sales.
Much like how you strategically display fresh basil beside tomatoes, mobile markets and grocery stores make for ideal pairings.
They give you the chance to test new products or offerings on a small scale. If something isn’t working, it’s easy to swap it out for something else. They also make it easier for you to increase awareness of the items you offer at your brick-and-mortar location. It’s like taking product sampling on the road!
Operating a mobile market truck gives you further means by which you can meet the unique needs of your community by offering fresh local produce and culturally relevant foods right on your truck.
Mobile markets also provide new ways to form partnerships (and strengthen existing ones) with local organizations that have a vested interest in community health (think health care centers, schools, senior living complexes, etc.).
Hosting healthy food markets at various locations is a great way to increase awareness of your commitment to your community by supporting health initiatives with your mobile market.
Additionally, many mobile market operators wrap their trucks with bright, colorful displays, which are hard to miss. Think of them as roving billboards for your business!
Nourishing Healthy Communities
Our unique approach and expertise in healthy food access is a result of years of operating mobile markets ourselves and designing the ideal market truck for others. Every one of our clients is unique and has different needs. We embrace that notion by offering the best truck in the industry, sharing what we’ve learned with our clients, and helping them achieve their goals.
Through our partnership with NGA, we are dedicated to helping businesses like yours secure a mobile market truck, grow your reach within your community and increase your sales. To learn more about our trucks and how they can benefit your business, get in touch with us today.
Together, let’s grow your business and nourish your community.
