After participating in the Taste of Trinity event held at Southside Community Land Trust’s headquarters in early April, Eric Mercado, community activist and owner of Southside Smoothie, recently revisited the Healthy Food Hub at 404 Broad Street to learn more about our operations. Mercado is energetic and always exploring ways to bring healthy food options and community engagement opportunities to more people. Recognizing the potential to do just that with his neighbors at SCLT, Southside Smoothie is proud to join SCLT’s growing list of local retail partners! As a benefit of this exciting partnership, SCLT members will receive a 10% discount on all purchases at Southside Smoothie and are encouraged to visit often.
Located at 402 Prairie Ave in Upper South Providence, Southside Smoothie opened in the summer of 2021 and is an indigenous-owned business, open seven days per week with counter and delivery service. Mercado and his business have faced many of the same challenges often encountered by the farmers and food service industry staff who work with SCLT, including startup and maintenance expenses and access to resources. Interested in a collaborative approach to addressing the issues of food insecurity locally, Mercado is currently working with SCLT to begin participating in our food aggregation program, planning to source some Southside Smoothie ingredients from SCLT growers and to use our USDA-compliant commercial kitchen for preparation.
Celebrated for the wide variety of offerings, Southside Smoothie serves healthy, high-quality, and customizable options, including vegan menu items, in an area regularly identified as a food desert. Deepening Mercado’s connections to the community, Southside Smoothie frequently welcomes popup food vendors to sell culturally-familiar cuisine from their location. In addition to the food and drink available, Southside Smoothie also hosts informational and educational events and weekly music nights. The venue is home to Mercado’s Hip Hop Chess Club, founded in 2017 and dedicated to building and maintaining safe and comfortable space for chess players of all abilities to teach, learn, and play the game. SCLT looks forward to working with Mercado and Southside Smoothie on mutual goals in the local food system and welcomes your support in this effort.
Be sure to visit Southside Smoothie at 402 Prairie Ave, or online at SouthsideSmoothie.com!
