A grocery store on wheels? The Works' Mobile Grocer hits the streets in Memphis
Fresh fruits, canned goods, and reusable bags are the marks of any average grocery store, but what if instead that grocery shopping experience came to you?
The Works' grocery store on wheels, Mobile Grocer, hit the streets in North Memphis for the first time Wednesday.
"I feel like a kid on Christmas, like a 6-year-old, with all of the gifts," The Works CEO Roshun Austin said. "This is a dream in that way because for a long time... we were trying to find ways for not only our staff members and neighbors to have access [to groceries]."
While the routes are still being finalized, Austin said the truck will definitely serve the Klondike, Frayser, Smokey City, and North Memphis areas. The Works will also partner with hyperlocal organizations to determine the best stops for the truck.
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"Everything we do is about a partnership with groups and neighbors, so we'd like the voices of people who live in this place," Austin said.
The Works is a community development corporation serving the Memphis community by offering affordable housing and social services.
BJ Adams was hired by The Works last year to drive the Mobile Grocer. After supply chain problems delayed the project since 2020, Adams is happy to get on the road to bring fresh foods to neighborhoods without grocery stores.
"We're just trying to find out exactly what areas we want to target first," Adams said. "Once we get the routes configured, then we'll do about two hours in each location... We're going to hit some senior living facilities, maybe some areas where you don't really have access to fruits and vegetables, as well."
The roughly 20-foot trailer is stocked wall-to-wall with every type of grocery item one might need: bread, cereal, fruits, vegetables, canned foods, plates, and cups. It also opens from the back to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
In 2010, The Works opened the South Memphis Farmers Market to fulfill a pillar of its South Memphis Revitalization Action Plan, which emphasizes healthy living by improving access to healthy foods in the community. The seasonal market with local vendors then expanded to become the brick-and-mortar store The Grocer at 1400 Mississippi Blvd.
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Rick James, owner and CEO of Castle Retail Group — the group behind stores including High Point Grocery and South Point Grocery, acts as The Works' wholesaler. James and Austin have been working together for more than a decade on addressing food deserts in Memphis.
"To see it, you know, see it actually come off of a sheet of paper and sitting in this parking lot is great, but the value of it being able to move throughout the city and get into neighborhoods, especially where access is limited because of transportation problems," James said. "That's one of the biggest things for seniors in the city is they rely on somebody else for transportation, or they rely on mass transit, which is very time-consuming, but to be able to have this show up at a parking lot in their building is just really going to be terrific."
For updates, follow The Works on Instagram.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: The Works' Mobile Grocer to bring groceries to Memphis' food deserts
