The KCK Mobile Market

the kck mobile market Summer 2018

A community health initiative to make fresh and affordable food more available in Wyandotte County.

Planning Team

NourishKC Community Health Council Dotte Agency / KU Architecture UG WIC K-State Extension Humana El Torito

Community Partners

Food Systems Action Team Grocery Access Task Force Latino Health For All Coalition Wyandotte County NBRs and more

Major Financial Support

Health Care Foundation of Greater KC Menorah Heritage Foundation Humana

Contact NourishKC

bheyen@nourishkc.org

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Table of Contents

3 | Introduction 4 | Access 6 | Team 7 | Partners 10 | Principles 12 | Engagement 16 | Proposal 20 | Sustainability 22 | Progress Updates

3

Introduction

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about the KCK Mobile Market!

This project represents a community-led and evidencebased approach to improving food access in Wyandotte County. It has been supported through private efforts among community organizations and non-profits working together to increase access to food.

While it does not replace a grocery store, it has been designed to be critical resource for those residents that find it difficult to get to their nearest grocery store. The goal of this project has been to improve our community’s health by improving the accessibility of food.

The KCK Mobile Market has been in development and has evolved for over two years (January 2016 - April 2018).

We’ve learned a lot along the way! Over that time, we’ve also forged partnerships and relationships, and are excited to being coming up on our official launch.

While there are still things for us to complete before we launch, we’re most excited that this project will now be governed by the Wyandotte County community, through the Mobile Market Community Council.

4

Team

Over the last couple years, the KCK Mobile Market planning team has directly supported the development of the mobile market: NourishKC (formerly Episcopal Community Services) General operations

Dotte Agency

Development, design, and fabrication

El Torito

Wholesale distribution partner

Community Health Council (CHC)

Community health network and financial support

Wyandotte County WIC Program

Technical assistance in getting WIC store designation

K-State Extension

Technical assistance in policy and community engagement

Children’s Mercy Kansas City

Mobile Market Community Council facilitation

Humana

Initial seed funding and collaboration

Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City Major financial support for prototypes and staffing

Menorah Heritage Foundation

Funding for fabrication of the KCK Mobile Market

Partners

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We have also been fortunate to connect with so many other great neighborhoods and organizations advocating for improving food access: Health Communities Wyandotte Food Systems Action Team KC Healthy Kids

Grocery Access Task Force

Latino Health For All Coalition Harvesters

Catholic Charities Kanbe’s Market

KU School of Business

NBC Community Development Corporation Historic Northeast Midtown Association

Rosedale Neighborhood Development Assoc.

Central Avenue Betterment Association KCK Public Housing Rollin’ Grocer

Additional financial support has been generously provided by the following partners: Shawnee Mission Health Partners in Primary Care

United Methodist Women COR

6

Access

Diet plays an important role in lowering the rates of chronic disease. However, for many low-income residents, just getting to and from the grocery store can be a challenge:

31%

Of households in Wyandotte County that have 3 or more people have 1 car or less.1

0.9 miles

Is the national average distance that households on SNAP without a car travel to their preferred grocery store.2

21,359

Residents of Wyandotte County are considered to have low income and limited access to a grocery store.3

One out of every four children in Wyandotte County is considered to be food insecure, defined as a lack of consistent access to food.4

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Access

I-6 3

QUINDARO BLUFFS

NEARMAN HILLS

FAIRFAX

Leavenworth Rd

NORTHEAST

27th St

BETHEL WELBORN

51st St

Parallel Pkwy

Quind aro Blvd

DOWNTOWN

State Ave

CORONADO

RIVERVIEW

wy

agon al

S 18th St

MUNCIE STONY POINT

Kansas Ave w Ka

Dr

Kansas Ave

ARMOURDALE

7th St

I-635

Edwardsville Dr

Metropolitan Ave

I-435

LAKE QUIVIRA

West of Interstate 635

Total Population:

WIC Grocery Stores:

ARGENTINE

69

Dr ay

TURNER

5

I-3

HWY

llid Ho

S 59th St

Kaw Dr

S 55th St

MORRIS

Kaw Dr

SHAWNEE HEIGHTS

So

S 130TH ST

Kansas Ave

EDWARDSVILLE BONNER SPRINGS

I-70

Santa Fe

d

er Di

lv

Turn

tB

24

Ce ntr al A ve

KENSINGTON

I-70

es

Y

ge Pk Colle

78th St

I-435

W

H

I-70

7th St

18th St

10th St

NORTHWEST

State Ave

State Ave

hw

59th St

63rd St

72nd St

VICTORY HILLS Parallel Pkwy

ut

Leavenworth Rd

PIPER

5

One way to look at food access in Wyandotte County is by looking at where WIC is. The map below illustrates the gaps in grocery access.

Steele Rd e Dr

Shawne

m Ln

ria Mer

ROSEDALE

UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS HOSPITAL

East of Interstate 635

80k 84k 10 5

8

Access

One thing we’ve heard from many residents is the desire to see a grocery store built in KCK. The numbers below reflect the expected costs for each type of store. The final number reflects the cost of construction divided by residents living within walking distance to a specific proposed store site.

Store Typology Compa Grocery Store Typology Comparisons: Big Box

Vacant Store

New Construction

Renovation

15,000 SF

12,000 SF

$9,000,000

$1,250,000

665 / 2,481 / 15,352

666 / 2,079 / 8,386

1 Location

1 Location

$3,627

$600

Person / 0.5 Mile / Site

Person / 0.5 Mile / Site

C

83

9

Access

One public health study found that building a grocery store alone won’t solve issues of food access for those without cars. At the same time, the study saw that a shorter distance to a grocery store is linked to a reduction in chronic disease 5.

This suggests that small, adaptive projects like a mobile market can meet people where they are.

mparisons

e

6

Corner Store

Mobile Market

Improvements

Retrofit

4,000 SF

24 foot-long truck

$10,000

$90,000

837 / 2,982 / 13,752

~722 / ~2,514 / ~12,497

1 Location

25 Locations

$3.35

$1.43

Person / 0.5 Mile / Site

Person / 0.5 Mile / 25 Sites

10

Principles

Through conversations with our planning team, our partners, and Wyandotte County residents, our goal has been for the KCK Mobile Market to be:

Accessible

The KCK Mobile Market is designed to make buying groceries easy. With weekly visits to neighborhood locations our goal is for grocery shopping to be as convenient as possible.

Affordable

The KCK Mobile Market will be stocked by a WICapproved vendor. This means the prices on the KCK Mobile Market are the same as what you would find in a grocery store. The KCK Mobile Market will also accept SNAP/EBT and electronic WIC vouchers.

Healthy

The KCK Mobile Market will carry fresh fruits and vegetables as well as essential items and recipes designed to reduce type-2 diabetes. After we launch, we expect to rollout additional food education and nutritional assistance programs that complement the mission of the KCK Mobile Market.

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Principles

What makes the KCK Mobile Market unique is that it can connect people to health networks while providing a service that makes grocery shopping more convenient.

Accessible

Food education programs

In-store pricing on location

Community - selected WIC food items

Healthy

Affordable

12

Engagement

We asked: What do folks really want?

Thanks to our friends at the NBC Community Development Corporation, 8th Street YMCA, Glanville Towers, and Crossline Towers, we were able to host four Mobile Market pop-up engagements in various KCK locations.

Over 100 individuals let us know what they would want to see and buy on the KCK Mobile Market. The events gave us insight as to where the Mobile Market should go, how often they’d people would shop there, and how they’d like to learn about its hours and locations.

While the information we’ve gathered from these popup engagements has helped inform our development phase, we will continue to find ways for the residents of Wyandotte County to participate and inform the KCK Mobile Market as it goes forward. If you’d like us to meet with your community, please feel free to connect with us.

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Engagement

We learned that: Q1. Fruits and vegetables were the most desired foods, followed by meats & poultry and then meal kits.

Q2. Locations need to include more than just business zoned areas. People asked to see the KCK Mobile Market at community locations such as schools, parks, and senior housing. Current zoning policies would need to be revised to allow for mobile market access at community locations.

Q3. When considering other options for new food retail access, if it came to their neighborhood weekly, shopping at the KCK Mobile Market was the most popular choice.

Q4. Text messaging is the best way to connect with customers regarding KCK Mobile Market hours and locations.

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Engagement

Question 1: Participants were given five $1 bills and one $5 bill of monopoly money and asked to distribute it according to what they’d buy on the Mobile Market. They were instructed that their $5 bill amounted to a ‘must-have item’. $1 bills

$5 bills

96 Total Participants

Fruits Vegetables Meal Kits Dairy Juices Meat & Poultry Basics Canned Goods Grains 0

25

50

75

100

Question 2: Participants were asked what locations they’d like the Mobile Market to go to. The question was open-ended, and they were allowed as many locations as they wanted.

Businesses* 14.1%

Out of 177 Total Locations Listed

Parks 13.0%

Housing 22.6%

Places of Worship 5.0%

Schools 18.1%

Neighborhoods 26.6%

* Areas zoned for Commercial are the only locations currently allowed for by zoning ordinances.

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Engagement

Question 3: Participants were asked how often they’d shop at four new food retail options if they were all were available today.

All four options relate to current efforts underway to improve food access in Wyandotte County.

Always

Sometimes

Rarely

Never

65 Total Participants

40 30 20 10

A New Supermarket Pro: Great selection.

Con: Low access.

A Local Grocer Pro: Good selection.

Con: Some access.

Fresh Food at a Convenience Store Pro: Good access.

Con: Low selection.

Mobile Market Pro: Great access.

Con: Low selection.

Question 4: Participants were asked how they’d like to connect to the Mobile Market to learn about hours and locations.

Text Messages Facebook Emails Postcards / Fliers Phone Calls Websites Friends Social Groups Billboards * Noticing It *

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

* Billboards and ‘Noticing It’ were not original categories, but added by the participants.

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Proposal

To maximize customer convenience, The KCK Mobile Market is designed to be accessible from the sidewalk. With one side dedicated to retail and the other to storage, it can make multiple stops a day from its overnight stocking location.

A retractable awning will allow for the Mobile Market to operate year round.

Additional dry goods, WIC food items, and essential grocer items will be stocked.

Most items will be at eye level for customers, accessible from the sidewalk, and without the need to enter the vehicle. Our goal is to make it as convenient as possible.

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Proposal

Dotte Agency is currently transforming a Freightliner Business Class M2 106 truck into the Mobile Market. This allows for rolling doors to slide up on the sides, and two bays to be fully refrigerated to carry fresh produce.

Fresh fruits and vegetables will be prominently displayed, with additional storage on the driver-side.

Folding tables and signage will be kept on the Mobile Market storage side.

Refrigerated dairy, meats, cheeses, and juices.

Two full-time staff NourishKC employees will assist customers in on the Mobile Market.

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Proposal

The KCK Mobile Market addresses the difficulty in accessing grocery stores for residents that are limited to bus transit or walking.

A bus ride to Save-A-Lot would take 34 minutes each way from Parkwood

12,800 Residents live within 1 mile of Parkwood Park

I-635

I-70

A bus ride to Sunfresh would take 38-59 minutes each way from Parkwood

It would take 56 minutes to walk to Rio Bravo A bus ride to Rio Bravo would take 39 minutes each way.

The diagram above illustrates the distance from Parkwood Park in Northeast Kansas City, Kansas, to the three nearest WIC grocery stores.

With 31% of Wyandotte County households of 3 or more people owning 1 vehicle or less per household, we can estimate that the diagram above represents the experience of thousands of residents living throughout KCK. The diagram only takes into account the time and distance for getting to each store. For each trip back, a resident would also be carrying groceries, which affects what they purchase at the grocery store.

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Proposal

Final locations and hours will be determined by the Mobile Market Community Council, and as allowed by the Wyandotte County mobile market ordinance. * Locations with an asterisk were specifically requested during the pop-up engagement event.

Banneker Elem.* Northwest Middle*

Parkwood Park*

Catholic Charities

Bus Stop at 7th and Minnesota*

M.E. Pearson Elem.

Turner Elementary*

Cross-Lines

Wyandotte Towers*

Cyrus K Holliday* KU Medical Center

The diagram above illustrates the distance between existing grocery stores in Kansas City, Kansas, with a half-mile radius surrounding each. That radius indicates a standard walking distance.

Our approach is to set up the KCK Mobile Market throughout each week at community locations that have limited walking access to grocery stores.

With a proposed zoning ordinance change, the Mobile Market would be allowed to set up near neighborhoods, schools, and parks. The diagram above suggests just a few of the locations that have been proposed by residents.

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Sustainability

With NourishKC as the backbone fiscal agent, the KCK Mobile Market has already attracted almost $500,000 in grants and in-kind donations.

Grant Funding Received: Health Care Foundation Greater KC Humana Menorah Heritage Foundation Shawnee Mission Health Partners in Primary Care United Methodist Women COR Community Health Council

In-Kind Contributions Received: Community Health Council K-State Extension Planning & Advisory Committees NourishKC Finance & Operations KU Students Miscellaneous (Design, Planning, etc.)

Annual Projected Expenses: Driver 1 (Inventory) Driver 2 (Bilingual Cashier) Gas Vehicle Maintenance Marketing Vehicle Liability & Insurance Nutrition Education Materials

$155,000 $75,000 $25,000 $36,000 $7,500 $2,000 $2,500 $7,000

$336,100 $31,200 $4,800 $29,700 $65,000 $5,500 $199,900

$86,900 $31,200 $31,200 $3,000 $2,000 $15,000 $2,500 $2,000

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Sustainability

Fiscal Timeline: Economic Sustainability

$155,000

Initial Sponsorship and Support

~$90,000 /yr

Yearly Operating

~$40,000/yr

Food / Health Network

~$50,000/yr

Expected Revenue

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025...

The KCK Mobile Market business plan has evolved over the course of its development. Initial concepts focused upon the partnership between a non-profit operator and a WIC-approved grocery wholesaler. As we’ve navigated the challenges of that agreement, it has become clear that our non-profit operator (NourishKC) can best serve the KCK Mobile Market by becoming a WIC-approved vendor and purchasing direct from our wholesale distribution partner (El Torito).

This model anticipates that over the next 3-4 years, revenues will grow as the community becomes acclimated to the KCK Mobile Market locations and available products.

Our initial sponsorship and support will keep the KCK Mobile Market solvent during this time.

We anticipate that should the projected revenues alone not keep the KCK Mobile Market economically sustainable, the network of health partners benefiting by having their patients served by the KCK Mobile Market will allow us to cover the gap to create a sustainable food access option.

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Progress Updates

In early 2017, Our planning team met with many residents throughout Northeast KCK to work out important details, and secured additional funding.

23

Progress Updates

A beer truck was purchased in May 2017 with initial seed funding from Humana and the CHC. Menorah Heritage Funds have allowed Dotte Agency to renovate it into the KCK Mobile Market.

ood

24

Progress Updates

Our planning team has also engaged with the Unified Government to update a zoning ordinance to better allow for mobile market operations.

Nearest grocery store: 6 minute drive, 23 minute bus ride, and 38 minute walk.

4 New Bethel Church

1 2

Sumner Academy

Eighth St. Baptist Industrial

3 5 St. Peter CME Church

Commercial

Multi-Family

Single Family

25

Progress Updates

KU Architecture students prototyped initial ideas for how to build out the Mobile Market.

26

Progress Updates

Nils Gore has been taking the student-designed prototypes and fabricating the finished buildout.

27

Progress Updates

This includes custom-built refrigerated doors, cabinets, and shelves for cold temperatures.

28

Progress Updates

Stories have been collected that document the real challenges faced by Wyandotte County residents without easy access to fresh food.

29

Progress Updates

These stories have been shared as videos with other residents and policy-makers alike. You can view them here: http://bit.do/kckmobilemarket

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Progress Updates

The most exciting update has been that we’re about to launch a Mobile Market Community Council to govern the KCK Mobile Market.

KCK Mobile Market Community Council Interest Form

We want residents to help run the KCK Mobile Market Come join the effort!

A collaborative team of community partners is rolling out the KCK Mobile Market in Kansas City, Kansas this spring. The KCK Mobile Market aims to improve food access for Kansas City, Kansas residents by bringing fresh, affordable food directly to neighborhoods.

We believe by working together our local community can create better options for accessing food.

That’s why we are forming a community-governance council (The KCK Mobile Market Community Council). The Community Council will meet regularly throughout the year to guide the future of the KCK Mobile Market. This will include making decisions on branding, schedules, routes, locations, available food items, and long-term sustainability.

NourishKC - a local food access non-profit - will own and staff the market, while a locally-owned grocery store will stock the vehicle with fresh food options and basic essentials at an affordable price. The KCK Mobile Market will make daily stops throughout KCK, and items will be available to be purchased with cash, credit card, WIC, and SNAP/EBT. Help us gauge your interest in getting involved by filling out and signing the form on the back of this sheet and we’ll contact you. Your information is confidential and will not be shared.

Once complete, please return this form before March 1st, 2018 by mail or during regular business hours to the Community Health Council of Wyandotte County, 803 Armstrong Ave., Kansas City, Kansas, 66101. You can also submit the form electronically on the KCK Mobile Market Facebook page or directly at bit.ly/KCKmobilemarket If you have any questions, feel free to ask us on Facebook (@thekckmobilemarket), email us at kckmobilemarket@gmail.com, or call us at (913) 371-9298 (ext. 1) or at (816) 800-0882.

We look forward to meeting you!

Please complete the interest form on the back >>>

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The KCK Mobile Market will soon be governed by the Mobile Market Community Council (MMCC).

This group is made up of residents and members of the KCK Mobile Market planning team that are volunteering their time to make decisions together about the KCK Mobile Market as it launches.

This group will collectively determine many of the decisions that have yet to be decided upon, and will continue to evaluate the success and outcomes of the KCK Mobile Market.

The planning team is excited to see the MMCC take ownership of the KCK Mobile Market, and will continue to be available as needed to serve as a resource to empower the MMCC to improve food access in Wyandotte County.

NourishKC will continue on as the backbone fiscal agent — including operations and adminstrative services — and through this partnership they will continue to reduce hunger and improve access to food in Kansas City.

If you are interested in supporting the KCK Mobile Market, would like to connect as a partner, or are just interested in where we’ll be located when we’re open, please contact NourishKC, or find the KCK Mobile Market on its Facebook page.

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Summer ‘18 Booklet Design matt.kleinmann@gmail.com

Printing Community Health Council

References 1: American Community Survey (2014) 2: USDA, National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey (2015) 3: USDA, Foot Atlas 4: Feeding America, Map the Meal Gap (2014) 5: Dubowitz, T. et al., 2015. A Natural Experiment Opportunity in Two Low-Income Urban Food Desert Communities Research Design, Community Engagement Methods, and Baseline Results. Health Education & Behavior, 42(1 suppl), p.87S–96S