- acquiring refrigerated vehicles for direct delivery to markets;
- financing “veggie vans” to bring fresh food to isolated communities;
- providing better access to food hubs or other sites where produce, dairy, seafood and meats can be stored safely for distribution; or
- purchasing produce boxes and cold storage bins to keep unsold food fresh for the next day’s farmers market or wholesale purchase.
Transporting Nutrition to Food Deserts: CSX and The Conservation Fund launch grant program to suppor
By: CSX | Aug 04 2014 at 10:00 AM | Intermodal
CSX and The Conservation Fund today announced a program of grants aimed at improving the transportation and distribution of fresh, healthy food to communities in need. More than 23 million Americans across the country have limited or no access to fresh produce, dairy, meats and seafood. One of the contributors to these so-called “food deserts” is the lack of infrastructure to distribute fresh food to markets.
As a leading supplier of efficient rail-based freight transportation in North America, CSX recognized the integral role that local distribution plays in bringing fresh food to the people who need it. Many producers and organizations are challenged to retain food quality and safety as they sell, store, package, and distribute produce and other goods to the communities they serve.
To support local distribution and help address this need, CSX and The Conservation Fund, a national nonprofit dedicated to finding conservation solutions that balance environmental and economic needs, teamed up to create a program that will help farmers and distributors enhance their delivery capabilities. Grants ranging from $2,500 to $10,000 will be made available to entities that distribute fresh produce/perishable food in the 23 states where CSX operates.
The grants can support a range of activities related to transportation such as: