A 40′ long School Bus transformed into a SNAP certified Full Service Grocery Store providing affordable Healthy Food Access in our Food Desert. Coolers and Shelves are being added as funds become available. We will be servicing two scheduled stops per day. Two or Three hours per stop, re-supply from support Van and move to second stop. Children, Elderly and Disabled are our targets with Schools, Veteran Housing and Senior Housing being scheduled stops. Our plan is to visit each stop two times a month.
This plan also provides employment opportunity for Two to Three Veterans.
Our focus would be on recovering those funds already in place to feed our community. We will also become an outlet for the Quality Urban Grown produce being planted all over our city. Other staples will be purchased for resale. Prices will be affordable.
Several Vacant city owned properties are being soil tested and will be Farmed by Veterans. This has been proven to be a therapeutic tool for PTS, Anxiety, TBI and many other Emotional Issues our Veterans suffer from. We are working with the agencies that house and treat Veterans for our participants. We are writing Small Farm Start and Sustainability curriculum and we are encouraging and teaching them that this is a Small Business opportunity. One of the Model Farms Sustains on 1.5 acres which is in easy reach for a Veteran with Benefits. We have the support and cooperation of the Mayors office, Senator Greg Taylor,Purdue U, Board of Health, Food Nutrition Service, American Legion, Veterans Vocational Rehab.
More Buses will be added to better cover the Large Desert Area.
Where are you at with the solution? Implementing the solution
Why might this be a valuable solution for Indy? The Cool Bus will go where needed. It will offer Fresh Healthy Choices never found in the Convenience Stores, which is often the closest SNAP recipient. Bad choices are forced on our citizens. Cool Bus can be stocked and serving much more quickly than a Brick and Mortar can be developed at a fraction of the cost. You can’t have a Full Service Grocery Store on the corner, but the Bus can be there.
What resources, advice or support would be helpful for you in moving forward?
Coolers and Freezer for the Bus.
We are looking for a Headquarters, Walk in cooler space and secure building.
We have Corp. support from American Legion Post 34, Indy Luxury Motorsports, M & J Entertainment and OVRTHERE industries. $1,000. each and that not only helps us address several Social Issues, Provide Food Access and Employ at Risk Veterans, It gets the sponsor Logo space on the Bus, Media Coverage and Advertising. Our 501c3, Veteran Industries and Arts will provide a receipt for Tax purposes. We operate as a unit with Legal, Business and Financial advice on the team. We are a Volunteer Board with NO ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS. Please consider sponsoring this Great Mission.
Lead contact: Jeff Piper
Email: [email protected]