Community Events
Farm Fresh Organic Produce Bus at Two Springfield Housing Authority Developments All Summer
Customer Celia Morales checks out the produce inside the bus with Enterprise farmer Jack Hawkins at Saab Court.
Dozens of residents and neighbors at two Springfield Housing Authority developments turned out on June 28 to buy fresh, organic fruits and vegetables from an Enterprise Farm bus that will repeat the visits weekly through the summer.
Corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, zucchini, kale, berries and more were neatly lined in boxes set on tables inside and outside the white bus that made lengthy stops at Riverview Apartments in the Brightwood section of the city, and Saab Court, located in Metro Center.
Visitors who stopped by on opening day said they will mark their calendars for the mid-day Thursday visits.
“You can’t beat fresh vegetables and fruit,” said Helen Exposito, an SHA clerk at Riverview. “It’s awesome.”
Helen Exposito, Frenando Mendoza, Moraima Mendoza and Enterprise farmer Jack Hawkins stand outside the traveling produce bus at Springfield Housing Authority’s Riverview Apartments in the Brightwood section of the city.
At Saab, resident Elizabeth Joyce had similar sentiments.
“Fresh vegetables? That’s always a good thing. I’ll be back, for sure,” Joyce said.
With Enterprise farmer Jack Hawkins at the wheel, the bus will stop at Riverview Apartments every Thursday from 11 a.m. until 12:30 p.m., and at Saab Court, from 1 to 2 p.m. Another stop at the YMCA on Chestnut Street will run from 3 to 5:30 p.m.
Hawkins said the program is aimed at bringing farm-fresh, healthy food from the farm in Whately to inner-city residents.
“Our mission is to get fresh, affordable food to people who may not have access to it otherwise,” Hawkins said. “Everything we have here is organic, and most of it is grown right on our farm.”
Enterprise farmer Jack Hawkins, Laura Hurley of Partners for a Healthier Community, and Carla Rivera and Kerry Trotta, both of Health New England, are ready for customers at Springfield Housing Authority’s Saab Court.
The program is a joint effort of the SHA and the Springfield Department of Elder Affairs. Other sponsoring agencies are Partners for the Healthier Community and Health New England.
On Wednesdays, Enterprise Farm will make stops at Greenleaf Community Center on Parker Street from 10:30 to 11:15 a.m., at Pine Point Community Center on Berkshire Avenue from noon to 1 p.m., at Independence House on Roosevelt Avenue from 2 to 3 p.m., and at Square One on King Street from 4 to 5:30 p.m.
