MOUNT VERNON – Knox Area Transit will offer a free shuttle to the Mid-Ohio Market in Bladensburg starting Aug. 27.
The shuttle runs every Tuesday morning. Passengers can schedule a pickup by calling KAT at 740-392-7433.
KAT coordinates pickups in Zone 1 (five miles from Public Square in Mount Vernon) between 8:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m.
Passengers outside of Zone 1 will be picked up by a free public bus and dropped off at the KAT building on Columbus Road. Passengers will take a shuttle to Bladensburg at 9:30 a.m.
The shuttle leaves Bladensburg at 11 a.m. and returns to Mount Vernon.
The Mid-Ohio Market is a joint project of the Center of Hope and the Mid-Ohio Food Collective (MOFC).
Opened in 2019, the Center of Hope houses a free food market and offers other services such as mobile meal programs, senior services, health and wellness education, and pastoral care services.
“The goal is to have a group of at least 18 people that we can send out there,” Transportation Director Bethany Celmar told county commissioners. “That’s been the best time for us. The other times the market is open are 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. That’s the busiest hour of our day.”
A grant from Food for The Hungry covers travel costs.
Celmar hopes to be able to offer the shuttle permanently. She believes that more stability will increase passenger numbers.
“Some of our previous Food For The Hungry trips have been very broad. I think we’ll see more engagement here. It’s more targeted and it’s just such a great place,” she said.
“I want more people to have access to it.”
