To help locals facing food insecurity, the Mercer Island Youth and Family Services (YFS) department has partnered with Hopelink on a critical pilot program to roll its Mobile Market truck to the area and offer free fresh and shelf-stable goods to those in need.

Three Island markets have already occurred on Jan. 17, Feb. 7 and Feb. 21, and one more truck visit during the trial period is scheduled from 1-4 p.m. on March 6 at the Mercer Island Community and Event Center parking lot, which is located at 8236 SE 24th St. Registration is not required for people to shop at the large, fully-stocked truck.

YFS Administrator Derek Franklin said the markets have been successful thus far with Islanders shopping for vegetables, fruit, canned meats and soups and much more. He added that the department has every intent in continuing the program and YFS is actively negotiating with Hopelink to bring additional markets to the Island in the future.

“It feels sort of like a farmers market where you have a few staff there in the truck with food on display. And I think folks appreciate the feel of that,” Franklin said.

According to Hopelink Director of Communications Cade Schmidt, the Feb. 7 Mercer Island market was ultra-busy and served 68 people, which is the highest number on any single day in the program’s history. Hopelink has operated its Mobile Market — which is a sub-program of its Food Assistance program — since September of 2019 and also currently serves the cities of Bellevue, Redmond, Kenmore, Duvall, Woodinville and Bothell.

Schmidt added that Hopelink is proud to partner with 22 local farms to stock the shelves of its food market facilities with fresh and nutritious offerings, which also include eggs, milk and chicken when those proteins are available.

Amanda Lopez-Castanon, Hopelink’s director of food programs, said people are excited when the truck pulls up to the location in their city.

“This program is dependent on the generosity and funding from the municipalities we serve, like Mercer Island and other community members,” she said. “We also appreciate donations of time from our wonderful volunteers for help on the days we distribute food. We hope when our Mercer Island neighbors and folks around the region see the Mobile Market out and about they are encouraged to help support the growing needs of the people we serve.”

Also on the funding front, Schmidt said that Hopelink secured a Department of Agriculture grant and used that money to purchase its refrigerated food truck that has been in operation since last December and has served the Island. He added that more funding is always needed to keep Hopelink’s programs flowing in order to provide stability to citizens needing its services. Hopelink’s programs focus on housing, food assistance, financial assistance, adult education, energy assistance, financial capabilities, family development and transportation.

YFS has referred some Islanders to Hopelink’s food pantry over the years, said Franklin, who is glad to have the agency loading up the shelves and wheeling its Mobile Market directly to local residents for the last two months.

“It feels great as a department coming out of the pandemic to be able to start to get creative about meeting the needs that’s out there,” Franklin said. “The pandemic sort of reset baseline on public health metrics and needs across the board. So we are really excited to have this program coming on board and look forward to seeing how it fits in the sort of portfolio of YFS’s services for those kind of experiencing food insecurity and other needs on the Island.”

Hopelink’s Mobile Market truck features free fresh and shelf-stable goods like vegetables, fruit, canned meats and soups, proteins, peppers, apples, pastas, rice and more. Photo courtesy of Hopelink