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Date: 4/27/2022
HUNTINGTON – In its fourth year, the Hilltown Mobile Market is changing its business model to provide more flexibility and efficiency and to reach more customers.
This year, instead of lining up at the van during certain hours a week, customers will order online the Hilltown-grown produce, which will be listed in advance and ready for pick up a few days later at a local business.
The new platform means that produce will be picked fresh to order from partnering farms throughout the Hilltowns. It will also allow the market to sell locally produced meat, dairy and eggs, which have been frequently requested by customers since the market began in 2019.
The changes are in response to customer feedback, said Market Coordinator Seva Water.
“We were running up against some real limits from last year,” Water said. She said there was limited space in the van, and market organizers weren’t always able to predict what would sell, meaning they would sometimes run out of produce at the Huntington site on the Town Green on Friday afternoons, the last drop of the day.
“All that is to say our model was really tricky and risky,” Water said.
This year’s more sustainable business model will be managed on a platform that allows farmers to say what they have available for the week, and customers can order directly from them. Orders will be prepackaged, and there will be more places to drop them off, with a longer window in time.
“This gives people a lot more flexibility in how much time they have to pick up their food, more choices, and more convenience. This year we’re going to be in 10 different towns; last year, we were in four,” Water said.
“As people do more online shopping, why not be able to buy local carrots online, like you can get everything else online these days? It’s all about convenience, that’s where we’ve got to go,” she said, adding the Mobile Market van will be making the deliveries to locations in each town.
In Huntington, pre-packaged deliveries will be made to B&D Variety on East Main Street and to the Huntington Food Pantry on Old Chester Road. Other delivery sites include the Village Enterprise Center at 26A Main St., Chester; AzureGreen at 16 Bell Road, Middlefield; and sites in Chesterfield, Cummington, Goshen, Westhampton, Willliamsburg and Worthington.
“There will be one farm pickup day, and two days where we’ll be dropping off orders. If this goes well this year, we’ll absolutely be applying for more grants and getting a bigger vehicle on the road next year,” Water said.
Recently, the Mobile Market received a $50,000 grant through an earmark of state American Recovery Plan Act funds, thanks to state Sen. Adam Hinds, helping them to expand their program.
Multiple farm share choices and payment plans will keep the price affordable for Hilltown families, with a “Food Security Share” option available for folks who may not qualify for SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or other food assistance programs. The $150 share comes with an extra $50 of store credit, for a total of $200 to spend at the market.
For those who receive SNAP, a special program through the state Department of Transitional Assistance allows customers to automatically direct $40 or $60 of their monthly Healthy Incentive Program (HIP) benefit to spend on the online store. Other options include the Hilltown Small share at $200, Hilltown Large share at $400, and a Helping Hand Share at $500, which includes a $100 donation that funds two additional food security shares for Hilltown families.
Although the online market does not open until July, customers can get in on the season early by purchasing a farm share, which will work as a spend-down balance on the storefront.
“Orders can be placed each week or as often as it works for the customer,” explained Monica Guzik, market manager. “If you can’t come one week, you won’t miss out.”
The market is also planning to extend the season six weeks this year, through mid-November, with hopes of soon being able to operate the mobile market year-round.
To learn more about the Hilltown Mobile Market and to sign up for a farm share this year, visit www.hilltownmobilemarket.info or contact Seva Water at 296-4536, ext. 116.