Dear Friend of the Amherst Mobile Market,
As we approach the end of 2024, we want to take a moment to express our heartfelt gratitude for your unwavering support of the Amherst Mobile Market. Thanks to you, this year has been nothing short of remarkable. Together, we’ve been able to provide healthy, fresh, and affordable food to nearly 200 families in our community, and we’ve done so with the help of dedicated volunteers and generous donors like you.
This season of giving, as we reflect on all that we’ve accomplished, we also look forward to the work that still lies ahead. At the Amherst Mobile Market, we remain committed to empowering the individuals and families we serve, giving them access to nutritious food that promotes healthier lives and stronger communities.
The impact of your donation goes beyond just a meal. It enables increased contact with neighbors and community building as families gather around the market. Your support truly makes a difference, and for that, we are deeply grateful.
As we look forward to 2025, we ask for your continued support. Together, we can further our mission to ensure that no one in our community, surrounded by farms, has to go without fresh, healthy, affordable food. Your generosity is what enables us to continue this vital work — and for that, we cannot thank you enough.
This holiday season, we invite you to join us in making a lasting impact. Whether you’re able to donate once again or share our mission with others, your investment helps ensure that the Amherst Mobile Market remains a vital resource for those who need it most.
You can become a Change Maker to those in need this year. Every dollar makes a difference! Make donations at our website, or mail your check to: Amherst Mobile Market, PO Box1045, Amherst MA 01004
• $2,000- Supports one market to ensure our clients have weekly access to fresh and nutritious food at their doorsteps.
•$160- Supports one support helper per market to help ensure clients get prompt and respectful service when they visit our marketplace.
•$50- provides two free shares, for low-income families that do not qualify for government assistance to access fresh food.
• $25- Helps provide the market with fresh produce to low-income families.
From all of us at the Amherst Mobile Market, thank you for being a part of our family. We are excited about the future, and we can’t wait to continue this important work with you in the year ahead.
Wishing you peace, joy, and a happy new year!
With deepest appreciation,
Amherst Mobile Market Board
THE MARKET WILL BE BACK IN 2025!
PLEASE COME BACK THIS AND VISIT OUT FACEBOOK PAGE FOR DATES, TIMES AND LOCATIONS.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Committed to providing organic, locally grown food
EXCITING NEWS AND A REQUEST FOR YOUR HELP
The Amherst Mobile Market is growing and on the move.
As of this January the market has incorporated as its own stand-alone nonprofit organization- allowing it to be even more flexible, innovative, and responsive to the needs of our diverse neighbors experiencing food insecurity. Equally exciting, the Market has successfully secured funding from both the Federal ARPA and CDBG programs to fuel its efforts over the next two year. However, this funding does not fully kick in until 2025.
Here’s where you come in. We need the help of our community to bridge this funding gap and allow the market to be all it can be for this growing season.
Click the button below to give online or mail a check to Amherst Mobile Market, PO Box 1045, Amherst, MA 01004.
OUR PURPOSE
The Amherst Mobile Market not only makes affordable produce available within walking distance of residents who struggle to access healthy food, but also puts decision-making in the hands of low-income, BIPOC community members and builds the capacity of those community members to take on leadership roles.
While the challenges around food access in Amherst are ever present for some, others may be unaware that nearly all of Amherst's census tracts are designated as "food deserts" by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, meaning that they contain high concentrations of residents who are both low-income and live more than a mile from the grocery store. Residents without vehicles, who constitute 11% of Amherst's population, often report that it can take up to two hours to get to and from the grocery store by bus, and that expensive cab rides are often required for the trip home to prevent groceries from spoiling.
THE PROBLEM BY THE NUMBERS
97%
of Amherst residents live in a USDA designated food desert
1 IN 4
Amherst residents is low income and lives more than a mile from a supermarket
11%
of Amherst residents lack access to a vehicle
82%
is the difference in heart failure hospitalization rates between Black and White residents of Amherst
OUR SOLUTION BY THE NUMBERS
25+
Amherst residents representing food desert communities engaged in a multi-year planning process
14
Amherst residents from food desert communities were employed by the mobile market in 2020
2
Amherst residents from the community the market serves have now worked at the AMM for four years
12+
Amherst area farms sold their produce through the mobile market in 2020
5,000+
affordable, organic produce items sold in 2020
400+
individuals were served by the mobile market in its pilot year
91%
of 2020 survey respondents said the mobile market facilitated access to fresh, healthy food
71%
of 2020 mobile market customers had an annual household income of under $50,000
OUR PICTURES
