Anti-hunger nonprofit City Harvest marks 20 years of Melrose neighborhood Mobile Market

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Residents line up down the block for City Harvest’s Mobile Market in the Melrose neighborhood, which distributes fresh food twice per month.
Photo Emily Swanson

The Melrose neighborhood Mobile Market is celebrating 20 years of bringing fresh produce and nutritious recipe ideas to residents in the South Bronx and beyond, while acknowledging the unfortunate reality that demand for its services is higher than ever. 

The market, run by the nonprofit City Harvest, sets up twice monthly and serves about 500 households each time. The organization brings “rescued” food from farms, retailers and restaurants that would otherwise be thrown away —  a too-common result of the country’s “mass produced” food systems, said Pedro Urbaez, who oversees food distributions for City Harvest.

The bright green tents, oldies music and pallets of produce stacked high have the look and feel of any fall farmers market — except for the huge line. When the Bronx Times visited on Oct. 23, hundreds of people waited down the block with carts and large bags ready to be filled with orange bell peppers, bananas, bunches of collard greens, apple juice boxes, and broccoli. 

Local anti-hunger organizations have reported a huge increase in need since the pandemic, even among families who never experienced food insecurity before. Pantry visits in New York City are the highest on record, with average monthly visits up 82% compared to 2019, according to a recent City Harvest report.

A cooking demo, complete with samples, showed people how to prepare the ingredients from the Oct. 23, 2024 market. Photo Emily Swanson

Mobile Markets are “not a traditional pantry,” said Urbaez. Instead of receiving a mystery bag, people can see the food up close, ask questions and learn delicious, healthy ways to prepare their ingredients. 

While the market in Melrose is the organization’s oldest, City Harvest has Mobile Markets in all five boroughs. The newest one, located at the nonprofit’s office in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, quickly became the biggest, serving approximately 1,000 families at a time, said Urbaez. 

Since 2020, City Harvest has stopped registering people or checking to make sure they live in the area. “We don’t reject anybody,” said Urbaez. 

The cooking demonstrations are key to dignifying the experience, while also ensuring that more food doesn’t go to waste simply because people don’t know what to do with it, he said. Learning and trying new things is all part of the plan. “We introduce folks to foods they’re not used to or might not buy themselves,” said Urbaez.

The demo station offered samples of a warm salad of steamed broccoli and peppers dressed with olive oil, cider vinegar, garlic, honey and salt — a recipe newly improvised by culinary educator Geraldine Fermin. “I made up this recipe this morning,” she said. 

Fermin said the markets provide recipes and samples, and the website has one-pagers on how to store and prep various ingredients. 

Susan Boyd, who has lived in Melrose for 50 years, is among the many who appreciate City Harvest’s efforts to feed and educate the community. Boyd, who retired from the city Department of Social Services, has volunteered with her local Mobile Market for all 20 years of its existence, she told the Bronx Times.

“This is my neighborhood. I want to help my neighbors,” she said. 

Bronxites left the market with carts and bags full of fresh produce that would have otherwise been thrown away. Photo Emily Swanson

Boyd has become a fixture of City Harvest’s work. During the Bronx Times’ visit, she handed out leafy bunches of collard greens and waved to neighbors and staffers, all of whom seemed to know her.

Residents often line up three hours early — at 6:30 a.m. — for market days, and some used to chain their carts to the fence to hold their spot in line, said Boyd. 

“I’m so glad that City Harvest does this,” she said. “They’ve been consistent for so many years.” 

While volunteering, Boyd said she also loads up packages of food for neighbors who can’t leave home or push a heavy cart. 

“Our neighborhood needs this. I hope they continue forever,” she said. 

Urbaez said City Harvest has been extra busy not only with food distribution but also advocacy to advance policy around housing and other needs. That’s because food insecurity is tied to every aspect of people’s lives, said Urbaez. “If somebody is worried about paying their light bill, they’re not gonna eat.” 

In the years to come, City Harvest Mobile Markets will continue to fill gaps in neighborhoods like Melrose. 

“We’re gonna be here until we don’t have to be anymore,” said Urbaez. 

In addition to the Melrose location, City Harvest operates a Mobile Market near St. Mary’s Park in the parking lot adjacent to 595 Trinity Ave. See their website for dates and times. 


Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes