New Affordable Fruit and Veggie Stand in the Works for Beaumont

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In the small city of Beaumont, Texas, not every family has easy access to affordable, healthy foods. Rebecca Boone, the executive director of Slow Food Beaumont, wants to start a new program, Get Fresh Beaumont, to address this problem.

The initial plan is for a group of volunteers to set up a fruit and veggie stand once a month in areas considered food deserts, areas with low income and no grocery store nearby. They will sell these fresh fruits and vegetables at reduced prices and hope to have the produce donated by local farmers and community gardens.

In a local news article, Boone said that she wants Get Fresh Beaumont to not only promote healthy eating, but to increase civic engagement.

Get Fresh Beaumont received a $5,000 grant from a Capital One trust to use as startup money.

The group hopes to launch in January 2015. In the meantime, they are compiling data and applying for more grants. Eventually, the volunteers hope to purchase a truck that can transport the fresh foods.

Boone said she envisions the program turning into a farmers market that meets three days a week so that people who can’t easily get to a grocery store have regular access to fresh fruits and vegetables.