OC’s New Food Trolley Hits the Streets

Meet Clementine! This beautifully restored trolley serves the Orange County residents with style and without stigma.

Community Action Partnership of Orange County (CAPOC) a CAFB member and Farm to Family partner, in partnership with Pimco Cares, unveiled this newest innovation last week. Clementine is more boutique market than mobile food bank.

Brightly colored and outfitted with speakers, lights, and custom chalkboard art, Clementine is designed to evoke the excitement of boarding a ride. When it rolls up to a distribution site, it announces itself with “The Trolley Song” and the clients are greeted by staff in conductor hats. While clients “shop” in Clementine’s interior, others can enjoy nutrition education displayed on the large screen mounted outside. Children are encouraged to choose a book from a matching red cart labeled “food for your mind” to read while they wait or later at home.

The CAPOC team made a conscious effort to keep it from feeling sterile and to transform it into a place kids were excited to visit and not feel embarrassed.

How did Clementine get its name? CAPOC wanted a name that reflected the old-fashioned style of the trolley. Clementine was proposed – a name meaning “merciful” as well as tasty fruit. It was a perfect fit for the trolley’s mission.

Clementine’s target audience is families with school-aged children. It carries about 3,500 pounds of food to each distribution, enough to service 60-70 families. The trolley is equipped to store fresh produce, meat and dairy products, as well as prepackaged frozen meals. Clementine is not only meant for food distribution, but also carries plenty of diapers for young families. CAPOC is targeting distribution sites that serve their audience, such as Boys and Girls Clubs, WIC Offices, Head Start, and schools. 

Clementine’s goals for the first year are 17 distributions a month. CAPOC is also actively working to attract other partners to build a CalFresh outreach and nutritional education component into the distribution activity.