MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Ohio — Laura Bragg is stocking up and getting as much as she can fit into her cart, but not just because of the pandemic, but because where she lives, going to the grocery store is a full day's work.

What You Need To Know

  • In Montgomery County alone, it's estimated that 50,000 people are living in a food desert

  • Since the mobile grocery story opened in October, an estimated about 500 people a week shop through the truck

  • The group that runs the mobile food truck is looking to expand the program

“You have to get on a bus and go all the way out on 48,” said Bragg, "It's about an hour ride out there."

Picking out, bagging up, carrying the groceries on a bus, plus that hour commute each way is what she has to do.

It’s all because there are no nearby grocery stores where she lives in rural Montgomery County, until this semi-truck showed up.

“I don’t have to worry about going so far out to the grocery story like Meijer or Kroger,” said Bragg.

It’s a mobile grocery store run by the nonprofit group Homefull. They target what’s called food desserts — areas with no grocery stores in sight.

In Montgomery County alone, it's estimated that 50,000 people are living in a food desert, according to county data.

But once a week, the truck comes here. Since it opened last month, an estimated 500 to 600 people a week shop through the truck.

Bragg has come to rely on it.

“It helps me pick out stuff so I don’t have to get so much, and I only use the stores for like non-essential, non-food items,” said Bragg.

And she says it's helping her get through this pandemic without any other grocery store around.