Wednesday, April 16, 2008

50 city green carts to roll out fruit, veggies for healthier diet in Queens

According to a Health Department survey, 90% of New Yorkers said they ate fewer than the recommended minimum five servings of fruits or vegetables a day, and 14% said they ate none at all. The city is hoping that a plan to place 50 new "green carts" in Queens will give borough residents more access to fresh fruits and veggies. On Monday, city health officials told members of the Queens Borough Board that the carts, which could appear as soon as this summer, will appear first in sections of southeast Queens and the Rockaways. Hopefully, with 50 “green carts” to roll out this summer and permits for an additional 50 carts to be issued the following year, areas essentially known as "food deserts, where options are very limited and the quality of options that do exist is fairly poor," will begin to disappear, and eating the recommended minimum servings of fruits and veggies will become part of a daily routine for all New Yorkers. The first set of new cart permits are targeted for the neighborhoods in the 100th, 101st, 103rd and 113th police precincts in Queens.

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