BALTIMORE — A nonprofit in South Baltimore is working to make sure neighbors living in food deserts get to the grocery store.
City of Refuge, a Brooklyn-based charity, is operating a shuttle dubbed the 'Refuge Ride', which takes folks from their neighborhoods to the grocery store and back.
"What we try to do is try to find a need and meet the need," Billy Humphrey, executive director for City of Refuge, told WMAR.
Humphrey, himself a Brooklyn native, said it would take most neighbors in five of six communities in that part of Baltimore at least an hour to get to a grocery store on public transportation.
That need culminated in the shuttle service, which is totally free to riders.
Among other stops, it takes them from Brooklyn, Curtis Bay, Cherry Hill, Lakeland, Mount Winans and Westport, to the Glen Burnie Aldi, Walmart and Walgreeens.
"This shuttle is allowing us to help our neighbors get to the grocery store quicker, and then deliver them back to their doorstep," Humphrey added.
“Food, pharmacy and fun," he continued. "Connecting dots around transportation hubs - local grocery store and retail, Walmart, Aldi, Walgreens, et cetera. Then when we bring them home, we deliver them right to their doorstep. So, eliminate the need to walk from their bus stop to their home.”
The shuttle, which began operating five months ago, aims to get folks to retail as well with the holidays on the horizon.
"Hopefully we can make that trip and that transportation for those that are without transpiration a little easier, a little faster, and a little more efficient. And they get to cruise around with a great driver by the name of Melvin," Humphrey said.
The bus runs to three of the six communities each day, Monday to Friday, and was funded by the SB7 coalition, which was born out of the Baltimore Peninsula development project's MOU.
"We want to fill it up with people, and get them to meet those most basic needs," Humphrey added.
