One downside to traveling by bike is the lack of cargo space, especially if it’s produce to sell at Findlay Market or other farmers’ markets.
Permaganic, the Over-the-Rhine non-profit that sustainably grows produce and teaches teenagers gardening techniques, is pairing with a lead volunteer of
Mobo, a volunteer run, bicycle co-op, to build a
pedal-powered produce cart. The cart will be another asset for Permaganic’s youth internship program, which pays inner-city teens to work the garden. In turn they learn how to grow, sell and cook with fresh garden produce. Luke Ebner and Angela Stanbery, founders of Permaganic, approached Mobo about building the cart.
The cart will help Permaganic lower their carbon footprint, as well as remove barriers between customers and sellers for a more intimate interaction. The cart will be hand-built by Rob Grossman, a volunteer at Mobo and freelance designer. Once finished, it will serve as both a produce transport and an interactive point-of-sale, complete with a cooler that can hold a couple of hundred pounds of produce, a blackboard, shelves and an awning that is collapsible when not in use.
“We are trying to add to the overall charm of the city,” Grossman says. “We hope people will walk into Findlay Market and see this big, colorful tricycle and want to approach it and find out more.”
Grossman will also create a jig to help in production of more produce carts in the future. For funding, Grossman and Permaganic launched a Kickstarter campaign. The overall goal is $4,000. The cart is a couple years in the making, but Grossman remains optimistic. If the Kickstarter campaign doesn’t raise the funds, Grossman says they will still move forward with the produce cart, but maybe not make it a top priority.
“We’ve drawn out the design and researched all the parts we need,” Grossman says. “It’s going to happen, it’s just a matter of when.”
By Evan Wallis
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.