Nonprofit hopes to quench Wilmington food deserts with juice stand

When people pass the Wilmington Green Box stand, they are surprised or confused, or both.

The wooden stand, situated on a small strip of grass at 420 N. Market St., near the Merchant Bar, is a rarity for the area. It sells cold-pressed juices, fruit salads, fruit infused pops and some produce just a few blocks away from what the U.S. Department of Agriculture has deemed a cluster of food deserts. Those are areas where low-income neighborhoods have limited access to a grocery store. 

"Most people are like 'What the heck is this doing here,'" said Jason Aviles, co-founder of the Wilmington Green Box. "We get cars that drive by and then stop to come try a cold-pressed juice."

The founders of the nonprofit, which aims to bring healthy options to central Wilmington, view the Market Street stand as a step in addressing the city's food desert issue. The stand launched in July and is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. A handful of Wilmington small businesses sell products and produce there. 

Like other urban areas, many city residents don't have easy access to grocery stores or produce stands. Researchers have found that being able to buy fresh food can reduce violence and make people more invested in their community.

But first residents have to buy into the idea.

"It's completely possible," said Allison Karpyn, a University of Delaware professor who studies food deserts. "It’s time. It's time for Wilmington."

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Even though agriculture is one of the state's biggest industries, about 118,000 Delawareans face food insecurity and 18 percent of Delaware children are among them, according to a 2016 report by UD and the state's Department of Agriculture. 

A person is considered food insecure when they can't buy a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food. 

Karpyn, the associate director of the university's Center for Research in Education and Social Policy, said economic and cultural reasons contribute to the creation of food deserts. 

Supermarket chains want to be in areas where the median income is higher than many urban ones and development is booming. When people leave urban areas for the suburbs, the grocery stores tend to follow, she said. 

Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. Inc. closed the Pathmark near Wilmington and a Superfresh near Claymont in 2015. The company cited "lack of interest and significant ongoing store operating losses." 

Wilmington isn't the state's only food desert. There's also food insecurity in Kent and Sussex counties, Karpyn said.

Sixty-one percent of Delawareans live in census tracts where there is no grocery store, according to a 2015 report by UD's Institute for Public Administration. Twenty-seven percent of residents live in census tracts that only have one grocery store.

Karpyn said when grocery stores or markets come to struggling areas, it can stimulate the local economy and help bring in jobs and development. People then tend to become more invested in the community and that helps reduce crime, she said. 

Aviles and his two business partners created the Wilmington Green Box last summer to help central Wilmington, a 10-block radius of 4,000 people. A majority of the population is African American and about 83 percent live more than half a mile away from a grocery store, he said. 

The nonprofit started with a series of mobile food carts selling locally sourced foods throughout the city.

The Green Box expanded to a semi-permanent location after receiving $1,850 in seed money from The Buccini/Pollin Group, a Wilmington developer, and Downtown Visions, a nonprofit that manages the Business Improvement District.

The nonprofit wanted to move to a space in central Wilmington where residents could sit outside and enjoy the food, a concept that was virtually nonexistent to residents, he said.

Aviles described the Market Street property as a "two birds, one stone" stroke of luck that lets him sell food while allowing people a place to eat. The nonprofit has the space for one year. 

Right now, four small businesses  — Myster Lemonade, Juiced Libations, Sol Fruit and Fresh Fruit Popz  — sell their goods from the stand and The Produce Express sells the fruit and vegetables.

Aviles said the small businesses receive all the proceeds from the products they sell. The nonprofit plans to add more businesses to the stand and build a small stage for live music this summer.   

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Since the stand opened less than two weeks ago, Aviles has discovered that education will likely be the biggest hurdle for the stand. 

"'There’s no way a carrot can make juice,'" he recalled several customers saying. "We were like 'Yes, that's possible.'"

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UD's Karpyn believes Green Box can help introduce different healthy foods into people's lives. She's seen this at Conscious Connections, a nonprofit that built a garden at 22 E. 23rd St., where Brandywine Village residents can buy fresh produce. 

But just because they built it doesn't mean people come.

While researchers are still trying to understand this "pretty complex scenario," Karpyn said people need to know the food is there before they can start thinking about eating healthy. 

Latisha Bloise, owner of Juiced Libations, said most of the people buying her products at the stand are drinking cold-pressed juices for the first time.

She started her online business in October and this summer is the first time she's been able to directly interact with clients. There are few options on Market Street for people who want to eat fresh and healthy, she said. Many of her customers stop by the stand during their lunch break or when walking to or from the courthouse.

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Some of her juices include a blend of watermelon, cucumber and mint or kale, spinach and pineapple. In the fall, she plans to incorporate sweet potatoes and string beans. She sells an 8-ounce bottle for $4 and a 16-ounce bottle for $8.

The name of Bloise's company is inspired by an African tradition in which libations are poured out to pay homage to ancestors. She views juicing as her gift and hopes the community is willing to accept it.

"We‘re here. We have this fresh local produce," she said. "Now the question is if people are going to support us."

Contact Meredith Newman at (302) 324-2386 or at mnewman@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter at @merenewman.