Green Carts Bring Fresh Produce to New Yorkers

Green Carts Bring Fresh Produce to New Yorkers

January 2008  - Apples, oranges, lettuce, 
green beans - they are part of a healthy diet, but many New Yorkers live 
in neighborhoods where fresh fruits and vegetables are not available in 
stores. As a remedy, New York soon may be dotted with food carts that sell 
only fresh produce. 
Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn Tuesday 
proposed legislation that would increase the number of greengrocers' carts 
where access to fresh fruit and vegetables is limited. 
The Green Cart proposal, recommended by the Food Policy Task Force, calls 
for 1,500 cart permits to be phased in over two years, and requires 
vendors to operate in designated neighborhoods where consumption of fruits 
and vegetables is low. 
"Access to healthy foods varies widely throughout New York City, and in 
many lower-income neighborhoods, supermarkets are few and far between. 
There is demand for fruits and vegetables in these neighborhoods, and this 
regulatory change will enable the market to meet that demand," said Mayor 
Bloomberg. 

"The Green Cart legislation will also provide opportunities for vendors to 
make a living selling fresh fruits and vegetables in communities where 
healthy food can be difficult to find," he said. 
Cart permits will be issued for vendors in areas throughout the five 
boroughs where fruit and vegetable consumption is low. Bronx and Brooklyn 
will each get 500 permits; Queens will receive 250 permits; Manhattan will 
have 200, and Staten Island will receive 50 permits. 
"The only way we'll ever put a dent in the dual problems of malnutrition 
and obesity is to increase access to healthy food," said Quinn. "The 
Council has taken major steps to improve access to nutritious food, and 
with this legislation, we'll take another bold effort towards becoming a 
healthier and more equitable city." 
A recent Health Department study comparing the low income neighborhood of 
Harlem to the upscale Upper East Side found that supermarkets in Harlem 
are 30 percent less common, and that only three percent of bodegas in 
Harlem carry leafy green vegetables as compared to 20 percent on the Upper 
East Side. 
The Green Cart legislation covers neighborhoods where at least 12 percent 
of adults reported, in Health Department surveys, that they did not eat 
any fruits or vegetables on the previous day. 
"We are in the midst of an obesity epidemic," said Health Commissioner Dr. 
Thomas Frieden. "In some neighborhoods, rates of obesity and diabetes are 
50 percent higher than the citywide average. To tackle this problem, and 
help prevent diabetes, heart disease, and cancer, we must change our 
environment and make healthy food more available." 
The mayor and the speaker also announced a new partnership with The Food 
Trust and the Food Bank for New York City that will work with supermarket 
operators to develop policies encouraging them to locate in neighborhoods 
in need of improved access to healthy foods. 
"Our work at the Food Bank and FoodChange to address hunger, poverty and 
nutrition issues has taught us that creating access to affordable, 
nutritious food in low-income communities is the long-term solution we 
need," said Food Bank President Lucy Cabrera. 
"The city's new Green Cart legislation will put fresh fruits and 
vegetables on the tables of families in low-income neighborhoods across 
the city, and that is a huge achievement by any measure." 
"One of the easiest ways to better our health is to eat more fruits and 
vegetables every day," said Ulysses Kilgore, president of the Bedford 
Stuyvesant Family Health Center in Brooklyn. 
"And while some New Yorkers are already doing this, many of us have 
difficulty because fresh fruits and vegetables are not as accessible in 
our neighborhoods," he said. "This proposal will make it possible for 
every New Yorker to choose a healthier diet." 

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