Our Experience Summary
Working with Fresh Truck
By Maya and Marco
In the past few times, we've worked with Fresh, the experience has ranged a bit. On me and Marco's first day, it really wasn't too busy, which the employees, Vince and Carlos described as a fluke due to it being the last day of the month. Our roles as volunteers included directing people into the truck and handing out ticketed numbers, and packing and counting groceries at the check-out line. So, our first day was pretty calm, and we had no more than 20 shoppers come in. Our next time was very different, and as Vince told us, was what the market was usually like. There were almost 40 people outside waiting for the truck to open, and even arguments about who got to go first. The entire three hours the truck was open, we were volunteering and packing groceries non-stop. Very unfortunately, at one point the groceries were starting to run out and there were so many people that many people at the end of the line couldn't get things they needed, and people coming in later were turned down because of it. Vince told us that this was normal, and unfortunately, all they can do is tell people to come in earlier next time.
By Hailey
My first time at the South End Fresh Truck was quite the experience. Two fights broke out in the line due to people taking too long to pick out their produce. The fights were minor, but they did cause some tension among the customers for the rest of the time. This was a moment of realization for me; bringing me back in touch with the reason why these people are so eager to receive relatively well-priced fruits and vegetables. It is because, within their community, these kinds of products are extremely challenging to come by so they cherish this truck's offerings to the fullest. I soon got the hang of the way the truck functions and was able to help other volunteers who were new, instead of having Vince and Dorris go out of their way to do it. My usual job is grabbing the bags of produce from the back of the line and placing them outside for the people to collect after check out. I like this job the best because it had the most social interaction with everybody. I began to really love going to the truck. The people who came were always sweet and interesting to talk to and I enjoyed hearing about the experiences of the other workers as to how they were placed in this line of work as well. I also developed a strong appreciation for the main heads of the truck who I work with, Vince and Dorris. They do so much back-breaking work to make sure the truck is functioning properly and have an amount of patience with everything that is shocking considering the great deal of chaos that goes on.
Group Takeaways
Although Boston has its well-off, affluent areas, those can't blind us from seeing the areas that aren't. South Boston and the South End both consist of polarized groups of people in terms of income that in turn lead to polarized neighborhoods. Both the areas Fresh Truck stops at in SB and the SE are those with little to no access to nutritious food. The people are forced to survive on unhealthy and processed foods served at nearby locations that contribute to the stigma against these neighborhoods, adding to the continuous polarization and cycle of food injustice in Boston.
What Fresh Truck believes is that retail access, purchasing power, and cultural environments impact how they relate to, shop for, and consume food. They aim to grow healthier communities with year-round food security and positive health outcomes. They are on a mission to strengthen communities by getting fresh food to the households that need it most. This is just one organization in Boston that is working towards mending the broken food system, yet more needs to be done on all sides of the community; such as volunteering. More participation and overall advocation for issues like the one Fresh Truck is targetting is the key final solution.