RVA Shoppers’ Shuttle Schedule Updated
The City of Richmond advises that the RVA Shoppers’ Shuttle, the monthly grocery shuttle offering transportation for Richmond residents, will modify its schedule to accommodate the new Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits schedule. The Virginia Department of Social Services will now issue SNAP benefits on the first, fourth, seventh, and ninth days of the month. The day will be determined by the last digit of a recipient’s case number. The RVA Shoppers’ Shuttle will now operate on the second and ninth day of each month and the third Saturday of each month.
All pick-up locations will have a final destination at the Walmart SuperCenter at 2410 Sheila Lane. The Shuttle serves the communities of Hillside Court, Fay Tower, Creighton Court, Fairfield, Mosby, Whitcomb, and Fulton. The shuttle service grew out of preliminary recommendations of the Mayor’s Food Policy Task Force.
The pilot RVA Shoppers’ Shuttle program is focused on areas of the city deemed as food deserts – areas where residents are without access to healthy, nutritional, fresh food. The areas focused on also have a high concentration of poverty and large populations without personal transportation. In June, the City extended the pilot time period until the end of the year. During the current phase of the pilot, the City will measure the need and responsiveness of areas with a large subsidized housing population. The program will also measure to what extent residents may be willing to pay a small fee for such a service; something akin to what people would pay for express bus services for other purposes.
Up to date information and a full schedule of the RVA Shoppers’ Shuttle is available below. Please note that if the second or the ninth day of the month falls on a Sunday, the schedule will be modified accordingly.