Food banks in urban settings have long served communities in urban areas, now mobile food banks can truck food to the poor in sparsely populated counties.
In Sumter County, the West Alabama Food Bank uses a fleet of refrigerated trucks to bring food to the rural poor. Despite stereotypes, rural poverty rates are worse than urban rates in the United States.
Serving this population means being able to get food to the people who need it, sometimes over long distances. West Alabama Food Pantry will retrofit commercial vehicles to serve its produce to the surrounding area, "Its cargo includes some 5,000 pounds of food — boxes of bread, fruits, vegetables, drinks and pastries that it will deliver to dozens of people in rural Alabama, many of them poor," reports Elaine S. Povich. Delivering to homes has some challenges that working at a commercial scale does not. For instance, for many, to carry the food from the curb they need a wheelbarrow, dolly or, in one case, a wheelchair.
FULL STORY: Mobile Food Banks Roll to Isolated, Rural Poor
Coming Soon to Ohio: The Largest Agrivoltaic Farm in the US
The ambitious 6,000-acre project will combine an 800-watt solar farm with crop and livestock production.
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
U.S. Supreme Court: California's Impact Fees May Violate Takings Clause
A California property owner took El Dorado County to state court after paying a traffic impact fee he felt was exorbitant. He lost in trial court, appellate court, and the California Supreme Court denied review. Then the U.S. Supreme Court acted.
Colorado Bill Would Tie Transportation Funding to TOD
The proposed law would require cities to meet certain housing targets near transit or risk losing access to a key state highway fund.
Dallas Surburb Bans New Airbnbs
Plano’s city council banned all new permits for short-term rentals as concerns about their impacts on housing costs grow.
Divvy Introduces E-Bike Charging Docks
New, circular docks let e-bikes charge at stations, eliminating the need for frequent battery swaps.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
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