Bloomberg Says Let Them Eat Fruit

Mayor Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn have announced a plan to issue 1,500 new permits to vendors who commit to selling fresh fruits and vegetables from carts in low-income neighborhoods. The “Green Cart” plan, expected to be approved by the City Council, comes on the heels of a Health Department study comparing Harlem to the Upper East Side; it determined that supermarkets in Harlem are 30% less common than the UES, and that only 3% of Harlem bodegas carry leafy green vegetables, compared to 20% on the UES. The UES also has better sushi, but that disparity remains unacknowledged in Bloomberg's plan.

Speaking at a press conference announcing the plan, Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas R. Frieden pointed out that “we are in the midst of an obesity epidemic. In some neighborhoods, rates of obesity and diabetes are 50 percent higher than the citywide average.” But the Neighborhood Retail Alliance opposes the plan, fearing a loss of business to the carts. Richard Lipsky, a lobbyist for the bodegas, told the Daily News the “real problem is the lack of demand. If the demand was high, the stores would be well-stocked.”

Aine Duggan, vice president at the Food Bank for New York City, told the A.P. that vegetable sellers are especially needed in black neighborhoods in Brooklyn and the Bronx, where supermarket chains are often reluctant to invest.

There is a food desert in many areas. In order to make an extra trip to a grocery store, not in the neighborhood, you're talking about getting on a subway and dragging bags of groceries home.

To that end, Bloomberg also announced a partnership with The Food Trust, a Philadelphia-based task force that has successfully brought about the renovation of more than 30 supermarkets in Pennsylvania. They’ll be cooperating with the Food Bank to try and get more supermarket operators to open stores in low-income neighborhoods and push the produce.

Photo of Bloomberg with clingy hotdog via Epicurious.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By John Del Signore in Food on December 19, 2007 12:15 PM

Comments [rss]

seamus

We just posted a video about this issue:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=QxI02Q2UDf8

freddyhere

Amen to that, megs!

megs

There are some truly ignorant people on this site. I live in Harlem. There are FIVE vegetarian restaurants within walking distance from my apartment. There is only one store that sells acceptable produce.

This is not a market issue, it's a prejudice issue. First you believe everyone in Harlem is underprivileged. Then you believe everyone in Harlem is uneducated. Ultimately, you believe we are subhuman and opposed to eating well. Nice.

I moved to Harlem to get away from people like you. It's a shame that a Jewish person (an assumption I'm making from the name Lipsky) would try to justify money-grubbing at the expense of people's lives. It's so very Nazi of him. But it's even sadder that so many of you would accept his bullshit rationale, when you know he's a LOBBYIST, for God's sake.

Have you really no sense whatsoever? Or are you so vested in your racist preconceptions that you are utterly bound by them?

AlliOops

This is an issue I feel strongly about, so I am glad to see Bloomberg is taking an initiative. However, I do feel that supplemental nutritional education is of the utmost importance.

I live in Bed-Stuy, and I pick up coffee every morning from the same bodega. The store is filled to the brim with Lil' Debbies, Hostess Cakes, Candy, Gum, Chips and every kind of soda pop under the sun. There is usually one corner devoted to moldy oranges and brown bananas (as if!). I parents come in the store with their children on the way to school. The child picks out their own breakfast (even as young as 4 years old) which consists of marshmallow pies, skittles, and a pack of berry blast bubblelicious. And to wash it all down...blueberry drink (whatever the hell that is!). It blows my mind, I mean, just the consistency of it. So many kids, so little nutrition. And the parents aren't much better. Maybe they just don't know the way nutrition impacts their families lives, or even worse...maybe they do and they just can't afford to do anything about it.

I grew up in the suburbs, and even though we didn't have the most money, my mother clearly had access to larger grocery stores with fresher selections. We had (non sugar) cereal, fruit and milk for breakfast, and every morning my mom placed a chewable vitamin on the table next to the bowl. So now, when I start a family, I plan to do the same for my children.

We need to put a stop to the cycle of bad eating habits so prevalent in underprivileged neighborhoods. And the only way to accomplish this is through a vigilant education campaign and access to healthier foods, like the Green Carts.

Spear_Chucker

KFC and Popeyes should buy a copy of the book by Seinfeld's wife and incorporate hidden pureed fruits and vegetables in their fried chicken, butter milk biscuits, and red flavored Kool-Aid.

matty

I'm glad no one read my original post.

bklynd

But the Neighborhood Retail Alliance opposes the plan, fearing a loss of business to the carts. Richard Lipsky, a lobbyist for the bodegas, told the Daily News the “real problem is the lack of demand. If the demand was high, the stores would be well-stocked.”

OK, so the bodegas will lose business to carts selling something nobody wants to buy?

HughGass

Good idea ... but, it's not available because there is no market. If there was a market, the goods would be there. One does not find check cashers & fried chicken in Scarsdale ... there is no market.

It's more about education.

smitty

Nutrition education is also, obviously, key. I hope they tie that in.

Landor

Semi-related: I wish that vending machines would dispense fruit & vegetable juices (V8), UHT milk (Parmalat), and protein shakes: not just sugar water.

matty

We have a similar problem here in Chicago. The question is, just cause you have green grocers doesn't mean people will necessarily eat the greens. There's plenty of places to get meat products and fast food in these ares, so is it the market that dictates where green foods go or is it the fact that grocers in these areas simply do not want to sell green foods? Further, if a green grocer were to open up in, say, harlem, would it be a success or would it fail because people in that area will not buy it?

It's a fair question, imo.