Fresh Bodegas Coming To Bed-Stuy

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Just in case that Bodega Diet hasn't been working out for you, nonprofit GrowNYC, which runs the city's Greenmarkets, announced the launch of their new "Fresh Bodegas Project," which hopes to replace those canned hotdogs and dusty 40s you're used to seeing with locally-grown vegetables and fresh juices instead.

Building off of the Health Department's Healthy Bodegas Initiative, the plan is to take four bodegas in Bed-Stuy and pump them full of local fruit and juice from upstate's Red Jacket Orchards and produce from the Wholesale Greenmarket in the Bronx. “Everybody loves a fresh, juicy apple, but in many parts of the city, convenient access to farm fresh produce is inconvenient or simply does not exist,” said Marcel Van Ooyen, GrowNYC’s Executive Director. (Well, unless you live near the all-organic Williamsburg bodega.) The program hopes to serve as a win-win-win for shoppers, bodega owners and farmers.

Here's a look a video the organization put together to explain the program:

The four bodegas participating this summer are: Bedford Express Deli at 1043 Bedford Ave, 5J Deli Grocery Corp at 925 Marcy Ave, Greene Ave Supermarket at 664 Greene Ave, and Si Grocery at 1082 DeKalb Ave.

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By Jamie Feldmar in Food on May 25, 2011 1:56 PM

Comments [rss]

dude_o_rama

There's another one at the corner of Lewis and Halsey too. They have a fresh veggie and fruit stand and have started stocking organic foods!

JoanCollins

This isn't directed towards the incoming hipsters, this is for long term residents. If this bodega isn't selling microbrews, tofu dogs, and artisanal kimchee, the hipsters won't be interested. As long as prices don't get jacked up, which would defeat the purpose, it's cool. I would rather see a little Bed Stuy school kid eating an apple on his way to school than a bag of cheetos or some bimbo donuts (leave those for me), if the cost is the same for the parent.

Claudette Brady

Some of us older residents want healthy food as well.

LazyNanny

Wow, a hipster bodega chain, I can't imagine a douchier-poser-slumming idea.

Joshua Fruhlinger

You somehow find a way to make this a bad thing? No comprendo.

ishtar_79

This is great...for the newish residents in the 'hood with the extra income to pay that Red Jacket premium.

randomtransplant

Red Jacket juice is totally a better value than booze or junk food. Apples are cheap. Stop selling the " 'hood" short.

ishtar_79

Motts and Delmonte (one or the other can usually be found at most bodegas), though inferior in taste and quality, are cheaper than Red Jacket and apples aren't "cheap", especially not those from local farms.

It's annoying that these organizations are going whole hog or nothing instead of trying to make it easier to get affordable fresh food for long time poorer residents. Affordable being the key word.

randomtransplant

Who said anything about replacing generic juice? And I dont know the last time you bought a snickers, but apples arn't that bad.

Oh no! Variety! New choices! Oh the horror!