November 18, 2026 – Public Comment
In this public comment to the Buncombe County Commissioners, we address Mountain Mobility’s two-bag grocery limit and how it leaves some seniors without enough food. We also propose practical solutions, including in-vehicle storage and limited driver assistance.
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Good evening commissioners.
My name is Gino and I come here tonight to ask for a small change in policy that will result in great changes for the lives of seniors who live in Buncombe County.
I run a transportation service for seniors and for people with physical disabilities to stay connected and to live with dignity. Many of seniors call our service for grocery rides. These same seniors, however, also use Mountain Mobility for their grocery weekly trips. There’s an overlap in our services. And I did not understand it until I kept hearing the same concern from seniors throughout the county.
You see, Mountain Mobility has a policy that limits passengers to two grocery bags that can fit upon their laps. Now I ask you, commissioners, how many groceries can you fit inside of two grocery bags? How many groceries can a 75-year-old grandmother carry on her lap in two grocery bags?
This policy is creating food-insecure seniors, and it comes at a cost. By our estimates, it costs Buncombe County between $38 and $46 a head to transport people to the grocery store. And yet, because of this policy, the needs of the people are not being met. The cupboards and pantries of our parents and our grandparents are bare even after returning from the grocery store. That is why when they use our service, they emerge from the grocery store with a cart full of goods, and they say to me, “I may have bought too much, but I know not when next I can come.”
Now, here is where I offer solutions to this problem. I believe that by raising the limit a grocery bags a person can take, you would alleviate a great deal of suffering. You could do this by creating cubbies beneath the seats or in a designated area in the vans.
There’s a second issue to address: how do the seniors transport the goods into their homes? And for this, you have someone readily available: the driver. I believe that if they are trained and paid with the excess funds you would receive from fewer grocery trips, they would happily help their neighbors and the people they love.
Thank you for allowing me to speak and for listening, and I hope that you look into this policy. Changing it would change a great deal many lives. Thank you.