Fresh Stops

Welcome to Fresh Stops, a digital journal by The Best Route. From our 30 years of food system research to the dirt under our fingernails at the Gilbertsville farm, we’re sharing everything we know about building equitable food access.

Explore Fresh Stops:

  • The Consultant’s Log: Expert strategy & mentoring.

  • On the Route: Mobile market impact & schedules.

  • In the Kitchen: Recipes & value-added innovation.

  • From the Field: Farming, seasons, and soil.

Fresh food. Proven strategies. Community roots.

Featured
The Best Route Framework: A Blueprint for Sustainable Mobile Retail
The Best Route Framework: A Blueprint for Sustainable Mobile Retail

How do you move from a well-intentioned pilot to a sustainable social enterprise? It requires a shift from 'charity thinking' to 'systems thinking.' We are sharing The Best Route Framework—our 4-pillar theoretical blueprint for solving the last mile of food access through vertical integration and retail discipline.

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Beyond Charity: Scaling Food Access Through Vertical Integration
The Consultant's Log Max Kulp The Consultant's Log Max Kulp

Beyond Charity: Scaling Food Access Through Vertical Integration

Food insecurity is rarely a crisis of supply; it is a failure of logistics. In our 2025 Case Study, we break down how The Best Route utilized vertical integration—combining our own farm, kitchen, and mobile markets—to solve the 'last mile' of food access. Learn why the social enterprise model is the key to moving beyond traditional charity toward sustainable community health.

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