‘Fresh Revolution” veggie bus rolls through town

A school bus ferrying vegetables rather than children has hit Cedar Rapids's streets, with the goal of getting healthy food onto the tables of people who need it.

Before each trip, volunteers load the Feed Iowa First 'Fresh Revolution” bus with produce from 22 volunteer-run gardens from around Linn County. The bus then visits food pantries, churches, parks and neighborhood centers.

At each stop, anyone is welcome to come on board and fill a bag with free, fresh vegetables.

The converted 1970s school bus started out Aug. 19 after being fitted with a new engine and new brakes. The seats inside have been removed and replaced with coolers and bins to hold produce.

Volunteer Lynette Richards drives the bus for part of the week. She said she likes not just its mobility but the visibility the bright green 'veggie bus” provides.

'I think there's a huge need for people to become aware that people in our community go to bed hungry,” she said. 'Especially in summer, all the kids who get free and reduced lunch (during the school year), that's two meals they don't get.”

Founded in 2011 by Afghan war veteran Sonia Kendrick, Feed Iowa First works with area businesses and churches to grow produce on their greenspaces. Each partner organization must provide volunteers to tend the gardens.

Kendrick and other Feed Iowa First volunteers help with planting, harvesting and cleaning the vegetables before distributing them around Linn County.

Before acquiring the bus, Kendrick would deliver the vegetables to area food pantries by car. The bus, purchased through community member donations, allows her to be more efficient and get food to more areas. Instead of numerous trips loading and unloading produce, volunteers just fill up the bus once.

'A couple thousand pounds of vegetables can fit on the bus. It's a lot less trips for my car,” Kendrick said.

The bus also can stop at places that aren't traditional locations to distribute food, such as Redmond Park or the Oakhill Jackson Neighborhood Resource Center.

'It helps us to get into areas where not everybody uses the food pantry,” Kendrick said. 'I know according to the (the U.S. Department of Agriculture), there are 26,000 people in Linn County who go to bed hungry, and we were not reaching those people. With the bus, we're able to go apartments and areas where there is need and reach out to them.”

Another benefit is being able to reach people at different hours than food banks are typically open.

'A lot of the people in need are the working poor. Many of the pantries are open during the day when they're at work. It's difficult,” Kendrick said. 'We've been able to take this out at 5 p.m., so people who don't have access to that time slot can get access to the vegetables.”

For many, fresh produce is a luxury that area food banks run short of quickly.

'There's an a lot of food high in calories, but it's not high in nutrients,” Richards said. 'People are so thrilled to get fresh food.”

For now, the bus doesn't run on a set schedule. Organizers are taking note of needs and participation at different locations so they can adjust accordingly and possibly have a set schedule next year. They plan to drive as long as they can this year, with thoughts of potentially distributing things such as mittens and coats once the vegetable harvest starts slowing down.