Affordable, Accessible Fruits and Vegetables for Neighborhoods
Submission Date: December 2008
State/Territory Submitted on the Behalf of: New York
States/Territories Involved: New York
Domain Addressed:Environmental Approaches
Public Health Issue:- Obesity and overweight are more common among people with low income.
- Substituting fruits and vegetables for higher energy-density foods, such as those high in fat and added sugars, is a useful weight management strategy.
- People who live in neighborhoods where a long bus trip is the only way to get to the nearest grocery store often donāt include fruits and vegetables in their daily diets.
- Increasing access to fruits and vegetables is a strategy supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity Program for states.
- Capital District Community Gardens, with funding provided by a grant from the New York State Department of Health Hunger Prevention and Nutrition Program launched a mobile market project in a box truck with refrigerators and shelves displaying fruits and vegetables for sale. Additional funds are being raised from donors throughout the region served by this project.
- The Veggie Mobile makes regularly-scheduled, one hour stops to sell nutritious fruits and vegetables at assisted living centers, public housing projects and other densely-populated locations in Albany, Schenectady, and Troy, in underserved neighborhoods.
- Once a week the Taste & Take program provides hundreds of residents from public housing a taste of a different fruit or vegetable and a free share of selected fresh produce.
- Volunteers perform a variety of tasks necessary to keep this mobile market running smoothly.
- The Veggie Mobile provides greater food security and fills a critical gap in area cities – a lack of grocery stores selling affordable fresh produce.
- Making fruits and vegetables more affordable and accessible to low-income city residents helps achieve several state and federal health objectives:
- a Healthy People 2010 health objective for the nation on eating more fruits & vegetables
- an objective of the New York State Strategic Plan for Overweight and Obesity Prevention to increase fruit and vegetable consumption and increase food security among state households
- a goal of the Hunger Prevention & Nutrition Assistance Program to increase access to safe and nutritious food and related resources
- Eating generous amounts of fruits and vegetables as part of a healthful diet is also likely to reduce the risk of developing chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.
Health Equity and Cultural Competency, Social Determinants of Health
State Contact Information:
New York
Maryanne Blandford
New York State Department of Health
518-408-5823
mxb34@health.state.ny.us