Politics & Government

Organic Produce Van Will Bring Fresh Veggies Right to Your Door

Village board signs off on plan to permit local woman to sell organic fruits, vegetables from her truck, not unlike an ice cream vendor.

Ice cream, it’s not, but Amy Ernst is willing to bet her mobile organic produce van will be just as popular this summer … at least with adults.

Ernst won Plainfield Village Board approval Monday for a new business venture in which she will drive through subdivisions four days a week selling fruits and vegetables from the back of her truck.

Her goal, she said, is not necessarily to make money as much as to make locally grown produce easily available to people who live in town.

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Her motivation comes from a very personal place, said Ernst, 42, a married, stay-at-home mother of two.

“I’m a four-year cancer survivor, and started meeting a lot of other people [who were as well],” she said. “People want to know what’s different now than years ago.”

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Ernst said she thinks it’s the chemicals that have become so prevalent in food, particularly pesticides and other manmade substances that enhance crops but may be negatively affecting people’s health.

“My concept is to bring fresh local organic produce to people where they live,” Ernst wrote in the proposal she submitted to the village.

“I have several local organic farmers who are ready to supply me with pesticide-free and chemical-free produce to stock my truck. These farms are close enough that I could pick up crops in the morning and have them on tables in Plainfield in time for dinner.”

She said one of her business models is Oberweis Dairy, which has proven that home delivery can be a viable business.

Although she doesn’t plan to take orders and deliver to people’s doors, she will advertise the times she’ll be in certain subdivisions so that people can be prepared for when to expect her.

She’ll also play some sort of music – perhaps Dixieland – to alert people she’s in the area.

Given that ice cream trucks are banned in Plainfield, Ernst admitted she was a bit surprised by how open the village board was to the concept.

Among the factors that helped sway trustees was that the business would be temporary, meaning Ernst will need board permission to do it again in 2012, and she will register as a business, pay sales tax and meet county health department standards.

“When I was young about a hundred years ago, this is what farmers did,” trustee Margie Bonuchi said. “They just came in and drove around. … I say anything I don’t have to shop for and you bring right to my door, I’m all for it.”

Trustee Bill Lamb, however, wasn’t sold on the idea. He cast the lone vote against the proposal.

“I like the concept but I’m not sure I like the business model,” he said. “I think you’d be better off with a storefront.”


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