NYC’s Green Carts

I have been going to New York a lot of late for all the obvious reasons. On this last trip I finally made it to Harlem and found out about the Green Carts Initiative which began in 2008.

I previously wrote about DTES Kitchen Tables, a scheme that aims to increase the availability of fresh produce to Vancouver’s poorest neighbourhood, so this successful Green Carts program struck a chord.

As the link between diet and health has become evident, more emphasis has been placed on availability of quality—preferably locally-grown—food.

New York’s Green Carts—supported by a $1.5 Million grant from the Laurie M Tisch Illumination Fund—was introduced to address issues of diet, health, entrepreneurship, employment and food supply simultaneously.

Some of the poorer boroughs of New York—where more than 12% of adults reported not having eaten any fruits or vegetables on the previous day—were peppered with 1,000 food carts selling fresh produce at affordable prices. With the help of micro-loans, qualified applicants were given the means to run their own businesses, hire employees and offer a much-needed service to local populations.

Sadly, the program is not perfect, and many populations still lack the knowledge to make judicious decisions about the food they buy. Vendors point to harassment from the police and competing shops. Some cry foul at the prices being lower than those of grocery stores, others claim the prices are too high to be affordable to poorer families. But it’s a start, and one that has created a self-sustaining system rather than a one-off or handout.

The Museum of the City of New York is currently housing an exhibition title Moveable Feast, which features New York-based photographers LaToya Ruby Frazier, Thomas Holton, Gabriele Stabile, Will Steacy and Shen Wei. The images portray vendors and their customers, the other food choices offered by these neighbourhoods and a glimpse into how the fresh produce is being used by families, offering concrete visual testimony of the impact the scheme is having on nutrition, health and, eventually, society.
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All images © Will Steacy. Amazing work.