Virtua Health Upgrades Its Mobile Grocery Store from Used Bus to Specially Designed Vehicle
A Virtua Health program that began in 2021 in a well-worn and not-always reliable former NJ Transit Bus has advanced to a specially designed mobile grocery store that was unveiled Wednesday to Virtua staff, government officials and donors.
The program, designed to make healthy food accessible to people who live in food deserts, offers fresh produce, canned goods, frozen meats and household goods at prices averaging 40% to 50% lower than in stores. Shoppers can also use SNAP government assistance benefits.
Two stops are scheduled every Wednesday in Camden: 9 to 10 a.m. at Baldwin's Run Senior Residence, 3195 Westfield Avenue, and 10:15 to 11:15 a.m. at The Branches at Centerville, 1800 South Ninth Street. Schedules and details of the program are available at Virtua's website.
Virtua's Eat Well Mobile Farmers Market with fruits and vegetables also stops in Camden: Tuesdays from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Roosevelt Plaza Park, 520 Market Street, and from 12:45 to 1:15 p.m. at Faison Mews, 1655 Park Boulevard. The Mobile Farmers Market also stops on Wednesdays at Osborn Family Health Center, 1601 Haddon Avenue, from 12:20 to 1:20 p.m.
The new Virtua food store was made possible by a $1.5-million state investment as well as donations from companies and private donors, according to Virtua.
Speaking under a tent outside Virtua Willingboro Hospital in Burlington County, Virtua President and CEO Dennis W. Pullin on Wednesday recalled the beginning of the mobile food store program four years ago.
“When we purchased that bus, we had no idea what it would lead to,” Pullin told the group celebrating the debut of the vehicle.
Pullin said many in South Jersey have trouble accessing healthy foods, whether due to cost, lack of transportation or other barriers.
Last year, the older Mobile Grocery Store had 7,500 transactions.
State Sen. Troy Singleton, whom Pullin credited with being on board since the beginning of the program, said Virtua is more than simply a hospital and goes "beyond its walls.”
During the program's development, Singleton recalled telling Gov. Phil Murphy that “I need a bus” and the hospital program got a used vehicle that seemed to be “in the shop more than it is in the community.”
The new vehicle has a pop-out section at the back with bench seating and a table where Virtua dietitians and others can meet one-on-one with customers looking for advice on healthy food choices and their diets.