09/10/2026
Dorothy lives in the small, rural community of Jacob City in Jackson County, FL, where the closest grocery store is over 10 miles away. For a community made up predominantly of seniors, disabled veterans, and low-income families, that distance is not just an inconvenience. It is a real barrier to putting healthy food on the table.
Dorothy came to the mobile market with her daughter and her three-year-old grandson, Demari. Her daughter is a single mom who works overtime and still cannot make ends meet. Like so many families, they stretch their budget by showing up to food distributions whenever they can find them.
'Everything is just too expensive. I can't afford to drive all that way to the store and get the good and healthy stuff I know my family should be eating,' her daughter shared. 'Fresh fruit is the most expensive thing at the store. Healthy is the most expensive. We just can't afford it. This is the best distribution I have ever been to.'
Dorothy agreed. 'We don't get fresh strawberries, apples, and other fruits that often,' she said. Little Demari loves strawberries, and that day he got to go home with some. That moment matters more than words can say.
United Way's Community Impact Grant helps bring programs like this mobile market directly into communities like Jacob City, making sure that distance and income are never the reason a family goes without.
