The Pacific North Fresh Mobile Market truck—a program of the Del Norte and Tribal Lands Community Food Council (DNATL CFC) under the Family Resource Center of the Redwoods—is hitting the road in April to provide remote food distribution throughout the county. The truck, designed and built-out by The Farmers Truck, acts as a farm stand on wheels. Adorned with a mural by local artist Jessica Slayton, the truck’s entire side opens up to reveal a series of bins for an abundance of fresh produce and other pantry staples. The truck also contains coolers that will stock eggs, milk, butter, and frozen protein. The mobile market will bring all of DNATL CFC’s food distribution programs directly to the community by providing once a month distributions in Klamath, Crescent City, Smith River, Gasquet, and Fort Dick. Community members will now have a chance to access all food programs including Senior Boxes, The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) of USDA commodities, Waste Not Weekly recovered food, and choice-based produce and pantry items, by attending a distribution in their local area. “It's so exciting to be out in the community, interacting and providing the community with a one-stop shop to all our food programs,” asserted Tommy Contreras, DNATL CFC Mobile Food Distribution Manager. The Mobile Market will serve as a mobile pantry, visiting a different community every Tuesday of the month, sometimes offering two distribution times and locations per site.The 1st Tuesday will service Klamath at the Steelhead Lodge, 330 Terwer Riffle Road, from 10 a.m. to noon; and Peymey, 125 Elhers Ave., from 2 to 4 p.m. The 2nd Tuesday will service Bertsch /Elk Valley at the Park City Superette, 725 Elk Valley Road, from 10 a.m. to noon. The 3rd Tuesday will service Smith River at Howonquet Hall, 101 Indian Court, from 10 a.m. to noon; and Smith River United Methodist Church, 121 N Beckstead Ave., from 2 to 4 p.m. The 4th Tuesday will service Gasquet at the American Legion Hall, 1555 Gasquet Flat Rd, from 10 a.m. to noon; and Fort Dick from 2 to 4 p.m.Marina MacNeill, DNATL CFC Food Operations Manager emphasized, “ our goal for the mobile pantry is to provide fresh produce with a focus on sourcing local.” Patrons will need to self-certify income levels and household size, and provide demographic information and photo ID if they wish to access all food programs. Some programs are accessible without ID and signing into the system. #placement_573654_0_i{width:100%;max-width:550px;margin:0 auto;}var rnd = window.rnd || Math.floor(Math.random()*10e6);var pid573654 = window.pid573654 || rnd;var plc573654 = window.plc573654 || 0;var abkw = window.abkw || '';var absrc = 'https://ads.empowerlocal.co/adserve/;ID=181918;size=0x0;setID=573654;type=js;sw='+screen.width+';sh='+screen.height+';spr='+window.devicePixelRatio+';kw='+abkw+';pid='+pid573654+';place='+(plc573654++)+';rnd='+rnd+';click=CLICK_MACRO_PLACEHOLDER';var _absrc = absrc.split("type=js"); absrc = _absrc[0] + 'type=js;referrer=' + encodeURIComponent(document.location.href) + _absrc[1];document.write('');Catalyzed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Amanda Hixson, Food Program Director of DNATL CFC, began convening the Del Norte Food Security Taksforce—comprised of over 30 stakeholders that represent non-profits, institutions, tribes, faith based organizations, public health, and municipal government—to address food insecurity in the county. The working group designed an innovative, collaborative proposal for Community Development Block Grant coronavirus response funds for a mobile market to serve the community. The mobile market was created to address the lack of grocery stores in the communities outside Crescent City; lack of access to fresh, healthy produce; transportation barriers to access food; and create more localized distribution points for food access. On the arrival of the truck, Amanda Hixson was delighted and shared, “ the truck will be driving around bringing nutrient-dense food to the corners of the county that need it most, that are most remote. It’s amazing to see this vision become a reality.”The Pacific North Fresh Mobile Market program was made possible through Community Development Block Grant, The California Endowment, and Coast Central Credit Union funding. For more information and to view the Pacific North Fresh Market schedule visit www.dnatlfood.com or contact Tommy Contreras, Mobile Food Distribution Manager, tcontreras@frcredwoods.org 707-464-0955 ext 2108 googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('ad-1515727'); });