Plan rolled out as City Council debates funding
ROCKFORD — A downtown grocery store and a nonprofit focused on sustainable farming are partnering on a new initiative to bring groceries directly into neighborhoods where access to healthy foods is limited.
The Rockford Mobile Grocery Store would run five days a week with two stops a day to sell fresh produce, dairy, meat, eggs and other food at discounted costs. It would primarily operate in west and southwest Rockford in places where there isn’t convenient access to groceries and residents may have limited transportation options.
The truck would be stocked and staffed by City Center Market, a locally owned grocery store at 325 W. State St. in downtown. The nonprofit Farmers Rising will lead the program administration, build opportunities for collaboration with farmers, and fundraise to help keep prices low. The initiative is also being advanced by the Rockford Food Insecurity Task Force, which was convened by the Northern Illinois Center for Nonprofit Excellence to explore ways to combat hunger and food insecurity…