Fresh Truck Mobile Grocery Store Launching in Charlestown

A new mobile grocery store is coming to Charlestown this week.

Fresh Truck, a new business started by Jamaica Plain resident Josh Trautwein, will be making its first local stops on Thursday, July 25, at Mishawum Park on Dunstable Road from 3-5 p.m. and at the Boston Housing Authority development on Monument Street from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

The two-week-old business operates out of a renovated school bus, which features shelves and display cases instead of bus seats. Fresh Truck sells fresh fruits and vegetables picked up that morning from New England Produce Center in Everett as well as whole grains and health bars, Trautwein said.

Many of the food is priced at least 20 percent lower than at a typical supermarket, he noted.

“We’re kind of a traveling block party that sells fruits and vegetables,” he said. “We’re also doing work to support community health initiatives.”

Now operating in a sort of learning mode, Fresh Truck is first visiting areas that have limited access to supermarket variety. Already the truck has made stops at Mission Hill and Roxbury, and Trautwein has plans to expand into other communities.

“We want to spend time in every neighborhood,” he said.

On Thursday, Trautwein plans to talk with Charlestown residents about the best days, times and locations for the truck to visit as well as the type of inventory they would like to see.

“We’re definitely going to have a scheduled stop in Charlestown, probably a minimum of one day a week,” he said. “[…] Charlestown is one of the neighborhoods where we’re most excited to get started.”

The visits will continue through all seasons, even after the new Charlestown Whole Foods Market opens Aug. 7 in the Bunker Hill Mall, Trautwein said.

“When I was working in Charlestown [at the Fitzgerald Youth Sports Institute] I got a lot of feedback from residents that said it would be great if there was a variety of grocery options,” he said.

Learn more at www.thefreshtruck.org.