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From: Tim Campbell <jtcmpbl@...>
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NYC sends veggie carts to underserved areas=E2=80=94and they=E2=80=99re a h=
it=20
=C2=A0
Posted 5:43 PM on 16 Jun 2009
by Tom Laskawy=20
=C2=A0
New York City took a baby step recently towards a state role in distributin=
g healthy food. It significantly expanded a program to bring fruit and vege=
table =E2=80=9Ccarts=E2=80=9D to low-income neighborhoods that lack good fo=
od options=E2=80=94so-called =E2=80=9Cfood deserts.=E2=80=9D And if the ear=
ly response as reported by the NYT is any indication, the program looks to =
be a rip-roaring success:
....[O]n Wednesday afternoon, an urgent line formed at a cheery new produce=
cart that had materialized at the corner of East Fordham Road and Decatur =
Avenue near Fordham University in the Bronx. =E2=80=9CThese strawberries lo=
ok great, and they=E2=80=99re a bargain,=E2=80=9D said Michelle Cruz, a 38-=
year-old graphic designer who lives nearby and found herself jostling other=
produce hounds under the cart=E2=80=99s jaunty green umbrellas.
The crowds who appear to be turning out for the carts should give some paus=
e to elitist opponents of such programs who often doubt that low-income res=
idents will put down their sodas and fast food and pick up apples and carro=
ts. Indeed, a member of the USDA=E2=80=99s dietary guidlines panel (i.e. th=
e people who brought you the food pyramid) recently speculated=E2=80=94as p=
araphrased by US Food Policy=E2=80=94=E2=80=9Cwhether people would really e=
at much differently if healthy food were free.=E2=80=9D The NYT provides a =
hint of an answer:
If the avid buyers at Decatur Avenue were any indication, residents of prod=
uce-poor neighborhoods may welcome the green-umbrella invasion. =E2=80=9CRe=
search has demonstrated that the greater the access, the more the consumpti=
on,=E2=80=9D said Elliott S. Marcus, an associate commissioner of the city=
=E2=80=99s health department.
And New York didn=E2=80=99t just address access. While the program doesn=E2=
=80=99t officiallly subsidize fruit and vegetable prices (for which I=E2=80=
=99ve advocated before), it does subsidize the overhead of the vendors. As =
a result, they can offer aggressively low prices. According the article, pr=
oduce was half the price (or even less) of the same stuff at local markets.
In some ways, this is such an obvious program that it=E2=80=99s painful to =
think that even this modest fleet of up to 1,000 produce carts could have f=
ailed based on opposition from brick and mortar vendors. While it did pass,=
it was a tough fight. As the NYT described the original city council propo=
sal back in early 2008:
The measure had the backing of antihunger and child-advocacy groups, and wh=
en it was introduced it appeared to have strong support on the Council. But=
support began to waver amid heavy lobbying from the retail food industry, =
leading to a flurry of late changes and compromises.
And even now, not everyone is happy about the new competition.
=E2=80=9CIt may be good for health, but it=E2=80=99s bad for business,=E2=
=80=9D said George Katehis, manager of the Splendid Deli Restaurant at 387 =
East Fordham Road. =E2=80=9CA guy might buy a piece of fruit there instead =
of coming in here for a soda.=E2=80=9D
Yes, George. I believe that=E2=80=99s the point. I=E2=80=99ve written befor=
e about our mind-boggling tendency to privilege the needs of business-owner=
s over the general public in public policy debates. But the fact is that cu=
rrent businesses simply aren=E2=80=99t meeting the demand for fresh food in=
marginal neighborhoods=E2=80=94and this is true across the country. So who=
cares what they think?
This one small program isn=E2=80=99t going to solve the core problems of fo=
od deserts, or obesity for that matter. But it certainly suggests that gove=
rnment policies aimed at providing an adequate supply of healthy food at a =
reasonable price to low-income people have a good chance at succeeding. I c=
an=E2=80=99t think of any reason why this shouldn=E2=80=99t be replicated i=
n communities across the country. It=E2=80=99s cheap, quick and effective. =
And while cities like Philadelphia have had success with public/private par=
tnerships to bring supermarkets in to underserved areas (a model which NYC =
is planning to emulate), building or renovating stores takes time and still=
relies to some extent on the good intentions of supermarket chains. Why sh=
ould low-income folks have to wait for all that? Let=E2=80=99s roll some pr=
oduce trucks, people!
=20=20=20=20=20=20
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<table cellspacing=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" border=3D"0" ><tr><td valign=3D"=
top" style=3D"font: inherit;"><H1 class=3Dheadline><FONT face=3D"bookman ol=
d style, new york, times, serif" size=3D3>NYC sends veggie carts to underse=
rved areas=E2=80=94and they=E2=80=99re a hit</FONT> </H1>
<UL class=3Darticle-meta>
<LI class=3Darticle-author>
<H5>Posted <STRONG>5:43 PM on 16 Jun 2009</STRONG><BR>by <A href=3D"http://=
www.grist.org/member/11561">Tom Laskawy</A> </H5></LI></UL>
<DIV> <!--<li class=3D"subscribe"><span class=3D"subscribe-head">Subsc=
ribe by <a href=3D"http://www.grist.org/article/rss/nyc-sends-veggie-carts-=
to-underserved-areas-and-theyre-a-hit/" class=3D"rss"><img src=3D"/i/icons/=
sub-rss.gif" alt=3D"Subscribe by RSS" /></a></span></li>--></DIV>
<DIV class=3Darticle-body>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D"media mediaItem1892 media-right" style=3D"FLOAT: right;=
WIDTH: 307px"><IMG alt=3D"NYC Green Cart" src=3D"http://www.grist.org/phpT=
humb/phpThumb.php?src=3Dhttp://www.grist.org/i/assets/nyc-green-cart.gif&am=
p;w=3D307"></SPAN>New York City took a baby step recently towards a state r=
ole in distributing healthy food. It significantly expanded a program to br=
ing fruit and vegetable =E2=80=9Ccarts=E2=80=9D to low-income neighborhoods=
that lack good food options=E2=80=94so-called =E2=80=9Cfood deserts.=E2=80=
=9D And if the early response <A href=3D"http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/11/=
nyregion/11carts.html?_r=3D1&scp=3D1&sq=3Dbronx%20carts&st=3Dcs=
e">as reported by the NYT</A> is any indication, the program looks to be a =
rip-roaring success:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV>...[O]n Wednesday afternoon, an urgent line formed at a cheery new pro=
duce cart that had materialized at the corner of East Fordham Road and Deca=
tur Avenue near <A title=3D"More articles about Fordham University" href=3D=
"http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/f/fordha=
m_university/index.html?inline=3Dnyt-org">Fordham University</A> in the Bro=
nx. =E2=80=9CThese strawberries look great, and they=E2=80=99re a bargain,=
=E2=80=9D said Michelle Cruz, a 38-year-old graphic designer who lives near=
by and found herself jostling other produce hounds under the cart=E2=80=99s=
jaunty green umbrellas.</DIV></BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV>The crowds who appear to be turning out for the carts should give some=
pause to <SPAN style=3D"TEXT-DECORATION: line-through">elitist</SPAN> oppo=
nents of such programs who often doubt that low-income residents will put d=
own their sodas and fast food and pick up apples and carrots. Indeed, a mem=
ber of the USDA=E2=80=99s dietary guidlines panel (i.e. the people who brou=
ght you the food pyramid) recently speculated=E2=80=94as <A href=3D"http://=
usfoodpolicy.blogspot.com/2009/04/dietary-guidelines-advisory-committee.htm=
l">paraphrased by US Food Policy</A>=E2=80=94=E2=80=9Cwhether people would =
really eat much differently if healthy food were free.=E2=80=9D The NYT pro=
vides a hint of an answer:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV>If the avid buyers at Decatur Avenue were any indication, residents of=
produce-poor neighborhoods may welcome the green-umbrella invasion. =E2=80=
=9CResearch has demonstrated that the greater the access, the more the cons=
umption,=E2=80=9D said Elliott S. Marcus, an associate commissioner of the =
city=E2=80=99s health department.</DIV></BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV>And New York didn=E2=80=99t just address access. While the program doe=
sn=E2=80=99t officiallly subsidize fruit and vegetable prices (for which<A =
href=3D"http://www.grist.org/article/tax-the-bad-and-subsidize-the-good"> I=
=E2=80=99ve advocated before</A>), it does subsidize the overhead of the ve=
ndors. As a result, they can offer aggressively low prices. According the a=
rticle, produce was half the price (or even less) of the same stuff at loca=
l markets.</DIV>
<DIV>In some ways, this is such an obvious program that it=E2=80=99s painfu=
l to think that even this modest fleet of up to 1,000 produce carts could h=
ave failed based on opposition from brick and mortar vendors. While it did =
pass, it was a tough fight. As the NYT <A href=3D"http://www.nytimes.com/20=
08/02/28/nyregion/28grocer.html?_r=3D1&scp=3D1&sq=3D%22green%20cart=
s%22%20RIVERA%20council&st=3Dcse">described the original city council p=
roposal</A> back in early 2008:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV>The measure had the backing of antihunger and child-advocacy groups, a=
nd when it was introduced it appeared to have strong support on the Council=
.. But support began to waver amid heavy lobbying from the retail food indu=
stry, leading to a flurry of late changes and compromises.</DIV></BLOCKQUOT=
E>
<DIV>And even now, not everyone is happy about the new competition.</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV>=E2=80=9CIt may be good for health, but it=E2=80=99s bad for business,=
=E2=80=9D said George Katehis, manager of the Splendid Deli Restaurant at 3=
87 East Fordham Road. =E2=80=9CA guy might buy a piece of fruit there inste=
ad of coming in here for a soda.=E2=80=9D</DIV></BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV>Yes, George. I believe that=E2=80=99s the point. I=E2=80=99ve written =
before about <A href=3D"http://www.weaversway.coop/blog/2009/06/triumph-of-=
sell.html">our mind-boggling tendency to privilege the needs of business-ow=
ners</A> over the general public in public policy debates. But the fact is =
that current businesses simply aren=E2=80=99t meeting the demand for fresh =
food in marginal neighborhoods=E2=80=94and this is true across the country.=
So who cares what they think?</DIV>
<DIV>This one small program isn=E2=80=99t going to solve the core problems =
of food deserts, or obesity for that matter. But it certainly suggests that=
government policies aimed at providing an adequate supply of healthy food =
at a reasonable price to low-income people have a good chance at succeeding=
.. I can=E2=80=99t think of any reason why this shouldn=E2=80=99t be replic=
ated in communities across the country. It=E2=80=99s cheap, quick and effec=
tive. And while cities like Philadelphia have had success with public/priva=
te partnerships to bring supermarkets in to underserved areas (a model whic=
h <A href=3D"http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/17/business/17supermarkets.html=
?partner=3Drssnyt&emc=3Drss&pagewanted=3Dall">NYC is planning to em=
ulate</A>), building or renovating stores takes time and still relies to so=
me extent on the good intentions of supermarket chains. Why should low-inco=
me folks have to wait for all that? Let=E2=80=99s roll some produce trucks,
people!</DIV></DIV></td></tr></table><br>
=20=20=20=20=20=20
--0-193209554-1246312538=:55399--
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Tim Campbell <jtcmpbl@...>
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