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Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Sioux Falls mobile market ‘running on hope'
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The end could be near for a grocery store on wheels in KELOLAND. The Eat Well Sioux Falls Mobile Market launched in 2023. A mix of grants, including money from the Sioux Falls Health Department, helped it get its start. The market is aimed at making groceries more accessible and affordable. Deuel County could be multi-billion data center site The Eat Well Sioux Falls Mobile Market makes eight stops each week, including at Active Generations on West 46th Street. Connie Berven lives nearby and says it's convenient to shop here. 'I got some bananas and I got some grapes and I got some yogurt,' Berven said. But there's a problem. Sioux Falls Thrive says there's only enough cash on hand to keep the market open through June. 'It's at a point now where we've kind of tested the waters. We knew…it's never going to make money, we've known that for a long time. Now we're at that point where we're going, 'Does the community support it or not?'' Sioux Falls Thrive President Michelle Erpenbach said. The mobile market has also faced some uncertainly over federal funding in recent months. Sioux Falls Thrive launched the mobile market as a pilot project. The organization is working on turning the market into its own nonprofit, something Erpenbach says would be a better business model. 'But getting it to that point takes several months, so it's a matter of can we cobble together enough donors to get it to that point where we're at the end of this calendar year, be able to stand it up on its own,' Erpenbach said. The market's future is unknown. 'We're literally running on hope at this point,' Erpenbach said. But Erpenbach is certain this project matters. 'This project is one of the ways that we as a community can step up and support those folks who just need a little extra help, they just need affordable groceries in their neighborhood,' Erpenbach said. Berven hopes to see this mobile market continue making stops throughout the city. 'It just seems like it's something everybody can use,' Berven said. Erpenbach says the best way for the public to support to the market is through shopping there. She says donations are also helpful. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Mobile market ‘in danger' after federal grant freeze
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The future of a grocery store on wheels is in danger. The Eat Well Sioux Falls Mobile Market makes stops in the city five days a week. The stops include a senior living community and schools. DOGE having an impact in South Dakota But now the nonprofit operating the pilot project is trying to figure out what's next after the news about a federal grant. The Eat Well Sioux Falls Mobile Market is grappling with a tough question right now. 'Right now we're in that phase of 'What the heck are we going to do?'' Sioux Falls Thrive President Michelle Erpenbach said. Last year, Sioux Falls Thrive was awarded a USDA Business Builder Grant for $50,000. The money would be used to pay one salary of the mobile market's two-person staff. 'It was coming in three payments, and we have used the first payment which was $20,000,' Erpenbach said. Recently, Erpenbach got some unexpected news from an organization that assists with the USDA grant, alerting Thrive of a funding freeze. 'I got an email from a contractor is Minnesota saying don't spend anymore money,' Erpenbach said. SFPD: Kidnapping arrest in Michigan, baby 'appears unharmed' The news puts the mobile market in a tricky situation. 'This project is in danger,' Erpenbach said. The mobile market opened in 2023. The goal was to make food more accessible and affordable. Erpenbach says today about 60 percent of the shoppers are returning customers. 'People are really figuring out that this is something that works for them,' Erpenbach said. Sioux Falls Thrive took on the mobile market as a pilot project with the hopes the grocery store would change hands someday. 'The greatest ending to this story would be someone to raise their hand and say, 'You know what? We'll support this and make it happen.' We've been working toward that for three years on this project that it would go on to either be its own nonprofit or supported by another nonprofit. So far that hasn't happened,' Erpenbach said. In a recent Facebook post, Fruit of the Coop in Brandon announced its USDA Business Builder grant had been frozen. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
