(Columbia, SC) – Midlands Organized Response for Equity and Justice (MORE Justice), an interfaith coalition of 28 racially, socio-economically and religiously diverse congregations, will hold “Mobile Market Week” to encourage people to shop small, shop local, and shop the Mobile Market.
Every day from Monday, April 21st through Thursday, April 24th, MORE Justice is encouraging our members and the wider community to shop at Tom’s Creek Family Farms’ Mobile Market. The market is funded by the City of Columbia to go to four stops a week within the 29203 zip code–the area with the worst food apartheid in the Midlands–to serve people who otherwise have limited access to grocery stores.
Every year, MORE Justice holds small group listening sessions where hundreds of people across our member congregations share personal stories about what community problems directly impact them. In 2022, Richland and Lexington county residents at those meetings overwhelmingly shared about the impacts of food insecurity on themselves, their family, and their community. MORE Justice then moves into a process where we meet with experts to learn more about the problem and what we can do about it. A few highlights:
- There are only FOUR brick & mortar grocery stores within the 29203 zip code to serve the over 41,000 people who live there.
- 29203 has one of the highest rates in the NATION for diabetic amputees–making it one of the most medically dangerous communities to live in.
- A Mobile Market–a grocery store on wheels–is an effective solution that has been implemented in hundreds of cities across the country and can serve up to 10,000 people a year.
Columbia has joined those cities and we want it to stay that way. The Market has been funded for the rest of 2025, and MORE Justice wants to ensure that the next two renewals of the contract are funded as well. Mobile Markets can only maximize their impact if the people who shop there know that they will be around to serve the community in the long-term.
MORE Justice is dedicated to seeking justice for all residents of the Central Midlands area by holding systems accountable for fair practices and policies. This event will share the need for ongoing support of the Mobile Market.
For more information, email morejusticecolumbia@gmail.com or contact Sydney Gonzales at (940) 232-8423.
