New Yorkers Get Fresh: Farms Come To The City

The mountain has finally come to Moses. If New Yorkers aren’t able to get out and visit a nearby farm, well then, the farm will just have to come to them. After connecting the declining health of children in specific New York neighborhoods with the availability of fresh fruits and veggies, the city has started a new initiative that brings farms to the communities most in need. The program, aptly titled Fresh Bodegas, connects local markets with Wholesale Greenmarket, at the Bronx Terminal Market, as well as Geneva’s Red Jacket Orchards to provide fresh produce, dairy and other healthy products to the bodegas.

As noted in the video, another big bonus of the program is the simple refrigeration of the products. Each market gets a colorful branded refrigerator that is stocked daily for just $200 with healthier options than high-sugar sodas and snacks. The markets have the choice to sell items at a higher price point to make a profit, or price to sell.

This initiative is just getting started and I can’t wait to see how it grows. As anyone who lives or travels in this city knows, one block can make the difference between neighborhoods and yet there are dozens of parts of the city that go without healthy necessities every day. Folks in the test neighborhoods, Central Harlem and Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, can check the list at GrowNYC to find out which local bodega carries Fresh Bodega products and to become involved in continuing this project.

Fresh Bodegas from GrowNYC on Vimeo.

Photo via Flickr user Maggie Jane.