ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A top official in the U.S. Department of Agriculture is visiting a mobile farmer's market in northern Virginia to promote distribution of fresh, local produce in underserved communities.

Ed Avalos, a USDA undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs, will tour the Arcadia Mobile Farmer's Market during its stop at a recreation center in the Alexandria section of Fairfax County on Thursday.

The farmer's market is a retrofitted school bus that distributes vegetables, eggs and other products from local farms. It does business in neighborhoods that lack healthy food options, and it accepts government food vouchers.