Putting the Plan into action
Following the initial feasibility study in the Spring, there was some uncertainty if the project had enough support to launch in the Summer of 2024. At the start of June, the project was given the green light at that point we began to put our plan into action to bring a mobile market to the Pottstown area.
Partners and Agreements
Hosts Sites: Before we were able to begin, we needed to gain permission to operate in the communities we had identified as benefiting most from the Mobile Market.
Upon making contact with the various entities that managed the host sites, we drafted a Memorandum of Agreement with each of the hosts, provided certificate of liability insurance. Generally once there is a written understanding and the host knows they are not liable, they will happily invite your market onsite.
Food Partners: Some markets will have their own in house production to support their market needs, while others will need to source from other partners. It is critical that you set our with strong food Partners and a plan for when things don’t go quite as planned. Just be sure to stay true to your organizations goals and mission when it comes to sourcing for your mobile market
Permitting
When it comes to permitting it will all vary depending on your location but more importantly they type of foods you are looking to offer.
In PA, we are able to operate a mobile market selling fresh fruits and vegetables with very little oversight, but once we want to offer eggs, dozen meals, or host tasting demonstrations we were hit with a full gambit of permitting requirements.
Local: At the borough level when we applied, our market did not fit nicely into existing permitting and as such we had to make our case to the local government and gain an exemption to operate.
County: In our state, many of the counties have a local health department each of which requires a unique plan review and fee. This proved to be the biggest challenge in operating as we were a fully mobile operation but to meet the local health department requirements, we needed to partners with a local cafe that operated as our commissary allowing our mobile market to start operating.
Federal: Once we were able to operate with the various licensing, it was time to peruse our SNAP licensing through FNS. Unfortunately we were unable to obtain the SNAP licensing in time for the pilot season.
All of this to say that there are a number of layers of government you may need to navigate in order to bring your market to life.
Market Vehicle
Please meet Franki, she is a 2008 Chevy Express 3500 that had a previous life a tasty cake delivery tuck. We found this truck on Facebook Marketplace for a good price. When buying used market vehicles it is always a gamble. If you are an organization that will need to contract out mechanic and maintenance work, a newer vehicle may be necessary.
In our case Franki had low miles for the age, was inspected for the remainder of the season, and came fully loaded with metal shelving to easily get on the road.
The biggest up-fits we tackled year 1 was converting the truck to a licensed “Mobile Food Facility” this required that all the surfaces were durable and washable, as such we had to line the interior of the box with Reinforced Fiberglass Plastic panels. Additionally we added a sink with hot water, a household style refrigerator, and a chest freezer. All of the appliances including market technology were then powered via a 3600w portable power station.
