The University of the District of Columbia (UDC), College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences (CAUSES), has supplemented its operations and best practices with its educational mobile van, furthering its mission of “Healthy Cities, Healthy People” during the COVID-19 pandemic. The College employs safety protocols, requiring all produce to be harvested with gloves and masks, to ensure that DC residents are provided with the safest, fresh produce. The UDC Food Truck serves as a food distribution channel for underserved DC communities with limited transportation options, providing nutrient-dense produce and research-based health and diet information. “It only makes sense that we answer the call of today’s residents in their time of need," according to Chef Herbert Holden, CAUSES Nutrition Educator.

The food truck provides quality education and training on food safety and food preparation, to guarantee that the College's mission is achieved, in addition to offering student internships and volunteer opportunities at its urban food hubs. The UDC food hubs are a local resource to DC residents who are unable to travel to Firebird Farm, the University’s 143-acre research farm in Beltsville, MD. Also, the P.R. Harris Food Hub has continued to serve the Ward 8 community with fresh produce throughout today's health pandemic. With the breakdown of national distribution networks, the need for an increase in localized food production that doesn't rely on the long-distance shipment of crops has become even more apparent. The soilless systems at P.R. Harris represent a more resilient food model that can maintain the distribution of healthy foods despite disruptions in our nationalized food system.