Local Community Food Centre announces transportation pilot for Nourish Equal Access Market

A bus service provided by St. Marys and Area Mobility Service will launch for marketgoers on Oct. 16

Representatives from the Local Community Food Centre, St. Marys and Area Mobility Service and the St. Marys Healthcare Foundation celebrate the upcoming launch of a new pilot program that will provide busing to and from the twice-monthly Nourish Equal Access Market at St. Marys United Church.

By Galen Simmons, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

As of Oct. 16, more St. Marys residents will be able to purchase fresh, local and affordable food from the twice-monthly Nourish Equal Access Market than ever before thanks to the launch of a new transportation pilot in partnership with St. Marys and Area Mobility Service.

Thanks to grant funding from the St. Marys Healthcare Foundation, the Local Community Food Centre has partnered with St. Marys and Area Mobility service on a six-month pilot program that will see the town’s mobility bus drive town residents to and from the market at St. Marys United Church, which runs from 2-4 p.m. on the first and third Thursday of every month.

“The nourish market has been going for quite a few years,” said Julie Docker-Johnson, a St. Marys resident and community connector with the Local Community Food Centre based in Stratford. “ … Since I’m from St. Marys, I know the people (who go to the market) and I thought, ‘You know what, there’s a lot of people that I know that aren’t here and don’t have vehicles.’ Then, the more we thought about it, we realized there’s a big barrier preventing people from being able to get there because, in the beauty of St. Marys, you’ve got to go up a hill (to get to the market).

“ … Then, once you’ve gone to the market and you have your groceries, you have to go down a hill.”

While visiting local apartment and seniors buildings in town through the Lunch with the Local outreach program, Docker-Johnson learned from residents that they know about the market, but have no way to ger there. And while St. Marys and Area Mobility Services can bring clients to and from the market, it is a paid service and clients must book transportation in advance. The mobility bus is also intended to serve an older age demographic and people with mobility issues.

So, Docker-Johnson reached out to the mobility service to discuss the possibility of launching a transportation program open to everyone and the idea grew from there.

“I reached out to see if there was some way this could work, to have a bus route, basically, where it goes to a bunch of pick-up points (at the west end of town), drops off at the nourish market, then goes to other pickup points (at the east end), drops them off at the market, picks up the first group and takes them home, and then do it all again,” Docker-Johnson said. “ … So, we made kind of a route and then (mobility services staff) figured out how much it would cost to have a driver and a bus for that amount of time.”

One of the mobility service’s drivers, Tina Crossfield, stepped forward as the driver for the market shuttlebus after having previously driven mobility service clients to and from the market. Docker-Johnson said that experience gave her an appreciation for how important the market is to people from all walks of life, providing access to affordable food, the opportunity to learn cooking skills and an opportunity to socialize.

Crossfield then lent her expertise as a driver by helping to develop and refine the proposed route, ensuring as many people as possible can access the service, and suggesting a volunteer be stationed on the bus to help residents on and off, especially when they’re carrying heavy bags of groceries.

With those details in place, Docker-Johnson took the proposed six-month pilot project to the St. Marys Healthcare Foundation in hopes of getting some grant funding. The health-care foundation’s board of directors saw the value in giving more people access to fresh, healthy and affordable food, and approved the grant request.

“The foundation is excited to contribute $3,150 toward this six-month pilot,” health-care foundation communication and fundraising coordinator Bernice De Decker said. “Ensuring everyone in our community has access to fresh, healthy food aligns perfectly with our mission to support the overall health and wellbeing of St. Marys. We’re proud to help bring this important initiative launching Oct. 16.”

As of Oct. 16, the nourish market shuttlebus will be available to anyone who needs a ride to and from the market during regular operating hours. The bus route and schedule will be posted throughout town and Docker-Johnson said the town’s community outreach worker is sharing information about the program with the people she serves so they know it’s available.

“This is just making something the town and the people of St. Marys think is important more accessible,” she said. “When we do the Coldest Night of the Year walk in the winter, the nourish market and outreach worker are where the St. Marys money goes to, so we know the community knows the value of the market.

“Now, we can make it accessible to everybody in the community.”