Eastern Market Looks To Get More Fresh Food To More People With Newly Donated Ford Transit Van

Eastern Market is a hub of fresh produce for the city and the region, but you might not know that they also have a program of 21 Eastern Market Farm Stands in various locations including community markets across Detroit each week.

To help with additional cold storage space for these pop-up markets and to carry some perishable items they weren’t able to before, Ford Motor Company has donated a 2016 Ford Transit Connect refrigerated van to Eastern Market Corporation, the proper non profit name that runs Eastern Market.

“We talked to residents in Detroit neighborhoods about their needs, and it became clear that shoppers are in need of a full-service shopping opportunity,” said Dan Carmody, president of Eastern Market in a statement. “Our operations only allowed us to bring fresh produce and shelf-stable pantry items to our 21 weekly Farmer Stand sites. With the refrigerated Ford Transit van, not only will we be able to provide a range of locally-produced dairy items, healthy snacks and prepared meals to the neighborhoods we serve, we’ll be able to expand our reach to seven additional sites per week.”

The van for Eastern Market has a high roof that enables a person as tall as 6 feet 9 inches to stand upright inside, vinyl interior, power converter, interior cargo shelving and refrigeration capabilities.

Each Transit Connect van offers more than 100 cubic feet of cargo space and is capable of carrying 1,470 pounds.

Ford Motor Company’s gift is part of Eastern Market’s “2016 Nourish Detroit” campaign, aimed to increase philanthropic support for Eastern Market.

The main market, if you didn’t know, has Tuesday and Sunday markets, open now through September from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., respectively.