People On The Street.
PRODUCE TRUCK. Article & Photos by Matt McGraw Every morning at 4 a.m., Alex Faynberg is already awake and out the door to start his day. Why? To get the freshest and best produce to fill his stalls at his produce truck located near 13th and Oxford Streets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Faynberg, age 50, has been working at the produce truck since he was 27 years old—nearly 23 years total. After three years of working at the truck, he was promoted to secondary owner, and within the same year, was made the sole owner of the truck and has been running the business and selling produce in Philadelphia ever since. “I’ve been running this truck as owner for 20 years,” says Faynberg with immense pride.
Faynberg gets up early and goes to get the produce for his truck from the Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market (PWPM), located at 6200 Essington Avenue. At this immense wholesaler, Faynberg can get the best produce at the best prices, which he can then sell to his customers for almost equally great prices. The peak hours of business at the PWPM are from 4 to 10 a.m., so Faynberg gets there around 5 a.m. to make sure he gets some of the freshest product. He then brings the produce to his truck after he gets breakfast, sets up and sells from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day but Sunday. While he sometimes has another person to help him run the truck, he says that often times he supplies the truck, sells the produce and runs the business all by himself. Prices at Faynberg’s produce truck are incredibly low. Because he can get his produce for next to nothing at the wholesaler, much of the fruits and vegetables that he sells are in the quantity of an entire bag for $1 to $3 dollars.
“IT IS GREAT TO SEE FRIENDLY FACES EVERY DAY.” This is certainly better than the average prices at a grocery store, for produce that is equally good, if not better. Because of his fantastic prices and his convenient proximity to shoppers at the Fresh Grocer supermarket, Faynberg gets an impressive number of customers. “I don’t really keep count, but it’s around a few hundred a day,” he states. Because he gets so much business, Faynberg is able to afford to keep prices low and customers happy. He says that the best thing about his job is the regular customers. “Some people have been coming to my truck for years now. I get to know people really well. It is great to see friendly faces every day,” Faynberg says with a small grin.