It's why we exist, and the PIAS program is our solution to wipe food deserts off the map in Baltimore, Philadelphia, DC, and other cities in the next five years. Oh, how wrong I was to think that fighting hunger was something we only did for marketing. We looked at hunger as a business problem and not as a charity - and that philosophy led us to come up with a solution that actually solves hunger, not just for marketing purposes. Second, it's systematically solving hunger in Baltimore. This program is more than a "marketing expense." First, it's not an expense at all. Eventually, we'll expand to Washington DC, Philadelphia, and other cities. We're using those profits to buy more EBT machines, hire more site managers, and expand to more schools. The program is profitable as well, which is important to sustainably solving hunger. They also make a stipend for running the stands. PIAS stands are run by students, who are kept off the streets and away from other distractions when running the produce stands. We're expanding to two new sites per month. We've sold over 3,000 bags and $30,000 in revenue in the seven months since the program got started. We also accept SNAP and EBT, hence "SNAP" in the program's name. We sell 7–12lb bags to residents that don't otherwise have access to affordable produce, for just $7. Last August, we opened our first Produce In A SNAP site at Franklin Square elementary, in the middle of a food desert. I thought - if this could work at my college, why can't it work in public schools? The program grew to hundreds of weekly customers, and in May 2014 I launched a delivery-model of the same concept. I got my start selling ugly fruits and veggies by setting up produce stands at the University of Maryland, where I sold five pound bags to students, faculty, and staff.
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