CEO Will Kornegay launched the project with his sister, Laura Hearn, just before the Covid-19 pandemic began. In April 2020, the organization adapted to pandemic restrictions and began selling produce for delivery to consumers’ doorsteps, sourced from local farmers’ excess crops.

“The mobile market is a wonderful resource for the community, and we know that there’s a strong correlation between food insecurity and financial vulnerability”

The nonprofit expands on that idea with mobile food markets, dispatching a fleet of buses and trailers to communities that don’t otherwise have access to fresh produce. The markets are equipped with shelving, refrigeration, freezers and mobile cooking carts, offering produce, dairy, proteins and eggs available through a pay-what-you-can model.

In June, an additional market hit the road sponsored in part by more than $100,000 in grants from the Coastal Credit Union Foundation.

“The mobile market is a wonderful resource for the community, and we know that there’s a strong correlation between food insecurity and financial vulnerability,” says Coastal Credit Union president and CEO Tyler Grodi. “By teaming up, our goal is to help address both.”

Members of North Carolina electric cooperatives can visit the Coastal Credit Union-sponsored market at several Triangle-area events this fall and receive a free voucher toward food purchases. See the list of event dates and locations below.

This year, Ripe for Revival plans to hold more than 1,000 mobile market events across 23 counties — distributing nearly 3 million servings to families in need. Visit ripeforrevival.com for more information about the nonprofit and its programs.