Akron's Mayor Shammas Malik was in high spirits last Saturday, Oct. 11, as he, alongside city and national collaborators, slashed the ribbon to welcome the arrival of Summit Fresh Mobile Market. As reported by the City of Akron, Summit Fresh is more than wheels and a tank full of gas – it's a mobile grocer truck swarming with produce, meats, and everything in between. To put fresh food within arm's reach of all Akronites, in their own neighborhood.
Earlier in 2025, the City of Akron bagged the first prize loot of $175,000 for the medium city category, courtesy of the Childhood Obesity Prevention & Environmental Health & Sustainability Awards − a combined effort by the American Beverage Association (ABA) and the United States Conference of Mayors (USCM). The grant is fueling the Summit Fresh Mobile Market's engine to combat food deficits and the assorted health setbacks − obesity, diabetes, and even dips in school performance − dictated by the scarcity of nourishing grub.
The roster of those waving the flag at the opening included Ebony Yeboah-Amankwah, Summit Fresh's helmsperson, Summit County head honcho Ilene Shapiro, ABA bigwig Bill McManus, not to forget Crystal Swann from the USCM suite. Driving this grocery on-the-go concept from its inception to the green flag were the Summit Fresh Mobile Market's board members, who revved up their idea and rallied the city into a pilot run using Mahoning County's own mobile grocery setup.
To keep tabs on where this roving grocery will pop up next, residents are nudged towards the Summit Fresh Mobile Market's website or its social media dispatches. In a statement obtained by the City of Akron, Mayor Malik declared, “We are proud to officially launch the Summit Fresh Mobile Market in our community. This new initiative brings the grocery store to where people most need it. Limited access to healthy grocery options has been proven to contribute to negative outcomes such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and even poor performance in school. The mobile grocery store solution gives residents the opportunity to purchase their own groceries in their own neighborhoods and to choose what their families will eat. It will complement existing food insecurity solutions such as food banks, pantries, free meals, and more.”
Director Yeboah-Amankwah made it clear that the market is a community-powered answer to Akron's munchies crunch. “As a community, when we hear of an issue, we pull together to address it, and that's what is happening here," she told the City of Akron. Meanwhile, USCM's Tom Cochran proclaimed, "This initiative reflects the kind of local action and creative problem-solving that cities across the nation are championing to ensure families and children have consistent access to healthy, nutritious meals." Kimberly McConville, Rep for the Ohio Beverage Association, noted their pride in backing Mayor Malik's mission to feed the food deserts with nourishing choices and to buoy communities across Ohio with jobs in the glug-glugging folds of the local drink industry.
