“Sam” To Bring Produce To Food Deserts
REV Birmingham's new refrigerated delivery truck. Its name is Sam.
The economic development group REV Birmingham estimates as many as 88,000 Birmingham residents cannot easily access fresh, healthy food. But the group, through an initiative called the Urban Food Project, is working to change that.
The Urban Food Project’s main goal is to help people who live in Birmingham’s food deserts — areas where nutritious and affordable food is difficult to get — by bringing affordable local produce to retailers and restaurants near them. Until recently, REV transported produce any way it could, in sometimes unreliable ways that often changed week to week. But with the help of a USDA grant, REV can now distribute produce more consistently and efficiently. Enter “Sam.”
Sam is a refrigerated truck that REV will unveil Friday in Woodlawn. According to REV CEO David Fleming, the truck gets its name from the late Sam Crawford, a former staffer who was passionate about increasing access to nutritious food in Birmingham’s food deserts. Fleming says Sam will increase the amount of produce REV can deliver to target retailers and ensure that its quality is not compromised in the process.
Sam’s debut party will feature Mayor William A. Bell, nutrition advocates, and members of the public interested in learning more about the Urban Food Project and REV Birmingham. As CEO Fleming puts it, “The unveiling of Sam really recognizes that this community as a whole is doing a whole host of things to address the health of its citizens.”
As early as next Tuesday, Sam will be traveling the streets of Birmingham and making affordable, nutritious food available to more of Birmingham’s citizens.
Birmingham is 3rd worst in the Southeast for ozone pollution, new report says
The American Lung Association's "State of the Air" report shows some metro areas in the Gulf States continue to have poor air quality.
Why haven’t Kansas and Alabama — among other holdouts — expanded access to Medicaid?
Only 10 states have not joined the federal program that expands Medicaid to people who are still in the "coverage gap" for health care
Once praised, settlement to help sickened BP oil spill workers leaves most with nearly nothing
Thousands of ordinary people who helped clean up after the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico say they got sick. A court settlement was supposed to help compensate them, but it hasn’t turned out as expected.
Q&A: How harm reduction can help mitigate the opioid crisis
Maia Szalavitz discusses harm reduction's effectiveness against drug addiction, how punitive policies can hurt people who need pain medication and more.
The Gulf States Newsroom is hiring a Community Engagement Producer
The Gulf States Newsroom is seeking a curious, creative and collaborative professional to work with our regional team to build up engaged journalism efforts.
Gambling bills face uncertain future in the Alabama legislature
This year looked to be different for lottery and gambling legislation, which has fallen short for years in the Alabama legislature. But this week, with only a handful of meeting days left, competing House and Senate proposals were sent to a conference committee to work out differences.
