On December 15, we gathered with more than 40 friends, partners, elected officials, and community members to unveil something that’s been years in the making: our new refrigerated truck and refrigerated trailer.
If you’ve been following our work, you know we don’t just talk about food access—we build the infrastructure that makes it possible. And this fleet? It’s a game-changer for how we serve families across Montgomery County.
Why Cold Chain Matters
Here’s what most people don’t see: getting fresh food to families isn’t just about having food. It’s about having the right systems to keep that food safe, fresh, and culturally meaningful from the moment it leaves the farm until it reaches someone’s table.
For years, we’ve been working around the limitations of borrowed coolers, rented refrigerated space, and logistics that required careful choreography just to make sure cassava leaves didn’t spoil before reaching the families who need them.
This refrigerated fleet changes everything. Now we can:
- Store and transport fresh produce safely across longer distances
- Reduce food waste significantly
- Expand our Food Is Medicine initiatives
- Reach more schools and community pantries
- Distribute culturally relevant foods that families actually want to eat
As Dr. Truphena Choti, our Founder and CEO, said during the unveiling: “This fleet represents far more than vehicles; it represents dignity, reliability, and systems that work for our communities.”
What Made This Possible
This didn’t happen in isolation. Strong partnerships made this real.
Montgomery County’s Office of Food Systems Resilience (OFSR) and the Morningstar Foundation provided critical support, along with philanthropic partners and individual donors who believed in our infrastructure vision.
Heather Bois Bruskin, Director of OFSR, put it plainly: “Food is a human right, and addressing food access requires partnership, infrastructure, and community leadership. Investments like cold storage and transportation are essential to meeting growing needs safely and sustainably.”
Why This Moment Matters
What struck us most during the unveiling wasn’t just the ribbon-cutting or the tours of the refrigerated units—though those were wonderful. It was hearing from elected officials who got it.
Council President Natali Fani-Gonzales shared something deeply personal: “When I came to this country as a teenager, accessing fresh food was something my family had to carefully strategize. Seeing cold storage and infrastructure like this matters deeply to me.”
County Council Vice President Marilyn Balcombe reflected on watching our growth: “I have seen the work up close from the farm to the food on our tables. AfriThrive doesn’t just say it feeds our county; it truly does, and the impact is tangible.”
Councilmember Andrew Friedson framed it in terms we live by: “AfriThrive is part of the solution we are working toward as a county building a stronger, more resilient, and culturally responsive food system. Food is the most basic of human needs, and it is also one of the most powerful ways we bring people together.”
And Councilmember Dawn Luedtke connected our local work to national conversations: “I recently saw this reflected even in academic policy discussions on Food as Medicine, and the same challenge kept coming up: how do we move fresh food efficiently and equitably to the people who need it most? AfriThrive is showing what’s possible by turning vision into action.”
What Comes Next
Since 2019, we’ve been building—slowly, intentionally, with community at the center. This fleet is part of our multi-year strategic plan focused on infrastructure expansion, systems building, and regional scale.
We’re not just growing for growth’s sake. We’re building the backbone that allows us to show up consistently, safely, and with dignity for families who deserve nothing less than fresh, culturally meaningful food.
Because here’s what we know: food access isn’t charity. It’s infrastructure. It’s systems. It’s showing up with reliability that communities can count on.
This refrigerated fleet? It’s how we keep showing up.
