Living in a housing co-op with a big group of people in the West End neighborhood of Providence, Evan McManamy and his roommates have always ordered fresh vegetables and fruits from Farm Fresh Rhode Island, a local produce aggregator.
So naturally, when the coronavirus pandemic struck in March, forcing people to quarantine and sending the entire Ocean State into a stay-at-home order, the group wondered not only how they would get their fresh produce, but also how everyone else would, too.
It turns out the answer was simple: McManamy and his crew would simply pick up the produce and make deliveries to anyone in Providence who wanted them.
In a few short weeks, the group launched CartwheelRI, a grocery delivery nonprofit that delivers fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as wholesale goods such as dried beans, rice, coconut milk and more, to anyone in Providence.
“I always thought that, yeah, if I were living by myself, I would really appreciate being able to buy groceries through Farm Fresh Rhode Island, and at that point I didn’t see a good way of doing it,” McManamy told Rhode Island Inno. “We also thought about how we could help get their produce [from local farms] out into the local market.”
People in Providence can go to the CartwheelRI site and make their orders through a Google form. They pay for the cost of the goods, which are not marked up, and then CartwheelRI recommends a contribution based on the order. The business currently operates on a direct-donation model.
“We do expect some kind of contribution from everybody, but some people contribute more and some people contribute less based on their financial ability,” said McManamy. “We find that folks who are contributing more directly subsidize those who are contributing less, so it seems to work out.”
Once the orders are ready, a small fleet of CartwheelRI drivers makes the deliveries. People who work with the organization are paid $15 per hour and also get reimbursed for gas mileage.
“A lot of people are unemployed right now, so many people in our extended communities have free time,” said McManamy. “For all of the folks working with Cartwheel, it’s not a full-time job, but we are trying to find ways during this time when unemployment is so high to find important work for people in the community.”
In just a few months, CartwheelRI has already accomplished a lot, making deliveries to 25 to 30 houses during some of its biggest weeks.
The company has obtained 501(c)3 nonprofit status, meaning all donations made to the organization are tax-deductible. It is also a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) retailer.
The SNAP federal program is administered through the USDA and provides supplemental funding to low-income individuals and families, so they can afford to purchase a basic diet. If users of Cartwheel pay through SNAP, they can get 50 percent off the produce in their order.
While Cartwheel is still a small organization, McManamy said he would like to see it continue to grow even after the pandemic subsides.
“We are set up to continue, and it's just a matter of whether people continue to have interest in having their fresh veggies delivered,” he said. “We are really trying to be open to whoever is looking for fruits and vegetables and dry goods, as wide of a range of people that are interested.”
