Thursday, 2 June 2016

Bright Stars



Junk food is ubiquitous. It is literally everywhere; in gas stations, convenience stores and coin machines. Everywhere you go you’ll find Fritos, Doritos, Tostitos and Cheetos. Actual food can be a lot more difficult to locate, especially if you live in a food desert. A food desert is an area where grocers and farmer’s markets are rare or nonexistent. Don’t think that’s a problem? Imagine living ten miles from the nearest orange or celery. Now imagine you don’t have a car. Food deserts are one reason we’re seeing a return of Victorian diseases like scurvy and rickets. To fight this trend, med student Jeremy Goss and recent graduates Tej Azad and Colin Dowling have founded the St. Louis MetroMarket, the area's first mobile farmers’ market. They’ve refitted a retired Metro bus like a rolling grocery store. They regularly fill it with fresh locally grown fruit, vegetables, meat, bread and dairy, drive it to the inner city, and voilà! A portable oasis!

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