07-05-2025
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.
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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.
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