The Green Grocer mobile farmer’s market delivers to Oakland on Thursdays through March.
By: Maura McCampbell, Marketing & Community Programs Coordinator
March 25, 2021 UPDATE: The Green Grocer delivery service is finished for the season but plans to resume in December 2021. In-person markets start in April; the closest stop to Oakland is in the Hill District at the Centre Heldman Plaza on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month until November. Please click here for the full schedule.
Eating your veggies just got easier! The Green Grocer mobile farmers market now serves Oakland with weekly produce deliveries. Green Grocer, an operation of The Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, offers doorstep delivery of 31 different fruits and vegetables. With affordable prices, no minimum order requirement, and no delivery charge, it's a service you don't want to miss.
In addition to convenient delivery, Green Grocer’s new program addresses food insecurity in Pittsburgh. One in every five Pittsburghers qualifies as food insecure, meaning they cannot consistently meet their basic nutritional needs. This rate is nearly twice the national average and is distributed unevenly across the city. As of 2017, food insecurity rates ranged from 27-39% in South, Central, and West Oakland, with the pandemic sharply accelerating food insecurity in some Pittsburgh communities. Like many Pittsburgh neighborhoods, Oakland does not have a full-service grocery store, leaving residents to drive, walk, or take public transit outside of their communities for groceries.
This food insecurity is precisely what Green Grocer is working to address. The program began setting up seasonal pop-up markets in Pittsburgh's food deserts in 2015. It started the delivery service this January as a COVID-safe way to continue services throughout the winter.
“People need fresh, healthy food all year round," Mobile Market coordinator Jordan Bailley said. "While we typically run a mobile farmers market, the low winter temperatures have consistently forced us to cancel about half of our January and February markets over the past few years. We thought a weekly produce delivery service would be helpful to anyone interested, especially those without affordable, reliable transportation and those without an ability to feel safe leaving their homes during the ongoing pandemic."
Green Grocer does not require an income qualification, meaning the service is available to anyone who lives in a delivery zone. In addition to feeless delivery, they accept a range of food vouchers. Customers can pay for produce with SNAP/EBT, Food Bucks, Food Bucks Rx, Just Harvest tokens, or FMNP Bucks. Customers receive a $2 Food Bucks coupon for every $2 of produce purchased on a SNAP/EBT card.
South Oakland resident Randy Sargent was ecstatic to learn of Green Grocer's services. "It's fantastic to have a delivery option for SNAP purchases that brings fresh produce to the home without any delivery fee," Sargent said. "Many Pittsburgh residents don't have cars, and South Oakland is a food desert, far from the nearest supermarket."
Currently scheduled to run through March 2021, the delivery service could continue if there’s enough interest. To place an order with Green Grocer, you can call 412-745-6598 Mondays between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. or order online at greengrocerpgh.shop. (Note that the web address must be entered without www. in front of it). Orders for Oakland must be placed by Wednesday at 9:00 a.m., with delivery happening Thursdays between 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. You can find a complete list of zip codes and their delivery days here.
You can call 412-745-6499 or email GreenGrocer@PittsburghFoodBank.org for more information about the service.
Looking for more food assistance services? Here are some local operations to check out:
· Community Human Services (CHS) Food Pantry Distribution: Thursdays: 3 – 6:00 p.m. and
Fridays: 11:00 a.m. - 2 p.m.
· Friendship Community Church: 3rd Thursday of the month: 4 – 6:00 p.m.
· Islamic Center of Pittsburgh Food Distribution: 3rd Saturday of the month:
10:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
· South Oakland Food Distribution at Frazier Field House: Tuesdays and
Thursdays: 3 – 5:00 p.m.
· St. George Cathedral: 3rd Saturday of the month: 10:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
· Pitt Pantry Distribution: Wednesdays: 3 - 7:00 p.m. and Fridays: 1 – 5:00 p.m.