Farm-fresh produce is now more accessible than ever to residents of Chester County due to the Fresh2You Mobile Market operated by the Chester County Food Bank (CCFB).

The market is open on Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to noon, with stops at Coventry Mall in Pottstown, the Phoenixville Senior Center, M&T Bank in Honey Brook, the Oxford Library and the Coatesville Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The market also parks on Third Avenue in Coatesville. As part of the new Senior Living Circuit, the market visits the following locations on Fridays: Brandywine Valley Active Aging, Coatesville campus; French Creek Manor, Phoenixville; Westminster Place, Parkesburg; and Whitehall Apartments, Spring City.

On a recent Friday at Westminster Place, the Mobile Market was located in the center's back parking lot offering a variety of selections of fruits and vegetables, including blueberries, cantaloupe, tomatoes, cucumbers, Swiss chard, carrots, squash, red beets, celery, onions and cabbage.

"New this year to us are mushrooms from Mother Earth Farm," noted Roberta Cosentino, CCFB healthy food access programs manager, noting that the mobile pantry started in 2015.

"We are basically a traveling farmers market," Cosentino explained. "We have two farmers on staff at the food bank who grow a lot of food that we carry. The rest we purchase from other local growers, so everything we have is locally grown and in season."

The Mobile Market is open to everyone regardless of income. All forms of payment, including cash, credit/debit cards, SNAP/EBT (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program/electronic benefits transfer) cards and WIC (Women, Infants and Children) vouchers, are accepted. Customers at the Mobile Market receive matching dollars in the form of Veggie Bucks that can be used for additional fruit and vegetables when shopping with SNAP/EBT.

In addition to the fresh produce, there are recipes available that provide shoppers with new meal ideas, along with recipe bundles that provide the ingredients to make that week's featured dish. "This week we are highlighting using the leaves of the celery," Cosentino said. "You will rarely get celery this fresh when the leaves are still usable, still good, still tender and super flavorful."

Visitors to the market can also learn how they can receive a voucher through the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture's Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP). If they qualify, applicants can receive $24 from the department to spend on Pennsylvania produce.

The Mobile Market will be stationed at sites throughout the county through Friday, Nov. 19. For a complete market schedule, visit http://chestercountyfoodbank.org/programs/fresh2you.

The market schedule is subject to change. For updates, check the aforementioned website, http://www.facebook.com/CCFoodBank or http://www.instagram.com/chestercountyfoodbank. Weather cancellations are posted on Facebook and Instagram. Email fresh2you@chestercountyfoodbank.org or call 610-873-6000 for more information.