Till 7:30 tonight, you’ll find the Delridge Produce Cooperative “Mobile Market” – free produce as part of a four-week test – on the lawn south of Youngstown Arts Center (4408 Delridge; map) – that’s where we took the photo a bit earlier. The project’s been getting lots of buzz and an increasing number of visits – even a line when they opened this afternoon! Here’s an update DPC sent before starting up for the day:

Today we have peaches from an organic farm in California, courtesy of Madison Market, and multi-colors of carrots from Full Circle Farm. We expect to get at least fifty visitors today, which is what we’re aiming for. We still need volunteers to fill up the schedules for the next three weeks, and we’re on the lookout for local organic farmers who would like to donate.

We have gotten a lot of calls and personal referrals from people who want the produce from the ‘Mobile Market’ to supplement thier limited food budgets, so we are definitely confirming our suspicions that there is a real need for inexpensive fresh food on Delridge. If things keep going the way they are, we can prove that not only is there a need for produce on Delridge, but also that people can show up at certain locations and times to get it – and that they want it that badly. This demonstrates that a *real* mobile market (in particular) is likely to succeed in Delridge. We’ve also gotten calls from other places than Delridge, asking if you have to show identification that says you’re a Delridge resident to get free produce. I think that this illustrates that if we had the kind of produce co-op that we want, it would bring business into Delridge from other parts of Seattle and therefore be more likely to succeed. There is not a lot of inexpensive organic produce in Seattle in general, so we may become a magnet for those who desire it.

Next week, the tote bags will be ready, and we will have the mulit-language information pamphlets about free and low-cost healthy programs. The tote bags are beautiful, sturdy, washable green polyester that packs down into a key fob the size, shape and color of a big strawberry. They are being silk-screened by local company Heart On My Sleeve with an inspirational logo that was created by a local artist for our ‘Tote Bag Art Contest’ a few months ago. I believe that she found out about the contest by reading about it on the West Seattle Blog.

You’ll remember Heart On My Sleeve – they’re the fashion/art/music team based in Pigeon Point, profiled here earlier this year. Meantime, if you don’t make it to the “Mobile Market” at Youngstown by 7:30 tonight, they’ll repeat the same sequence of four locations next Friday through Monday – all listed here.
ADDED 7:20 PM: Thanks to Dina Johnson for this photo of the multiple colors of carrots available at the stand today: