Children benefit substantially from good nutrition, which positively affects their growth and development, and their ability to concentrate and learn in school. Conversely, poor nutrition in childhood results in negative, and often lifelong, consequences. As research1 suggests, lack of access to healthy foods contributes to growing obesity rates, diabetes and other related health problems, all of which disproportionately affect children in low-income communities. As childhood obesity becomes a more prevalent health problem, initiatives that improve child and family access to healthy and affordable foods prove critical to the health and well-being of low income children.

The NYC Green Cart Initiative, which brings fresh, affordable fruits and vegetables to communities that need them most, was designed to address issues of inadequate access and lack of proximity to quality produce — two strong factors preventing consumption of fruit and vegetables in New York City’s low-income communities. The initiative created City-issued permits for fresh produce carts (Green Carts), the geographic placement of which was targeted to designated neighborhoods based on their lack of access to healthy, affordable produce and their high rates of obesity, diabetes and heart disease. The City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) estimated that Green Carts would increase access to fresh produce in neighborhoods where produce consumption was low, increase consumption of fresh produce by at least 75,000 New Yorkers, and save approximately 100 lives annually over the long term.
Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York, Inc. (CCC) collected data during the first year of Green Cart implementation to determine if the presence of Green Carts had a positive impact on the consumption of fruits and vegetables in targeted communities and whether Green Carts presented a viable, cost effective way to achieve the goal of bringing fresh produce to communities in need.

Our data gathering occurred in the summer through fall of 2009, and involved both community members and street cart vendors. We canvassed community members, and conducted focus groups with adult community residents. We also interviewed Green Cart vendors on the street, held a Green Cart vendor focus group, and assessed the produce range and pricing available from Green Carts.
Highlights of findings from street canvassing and focus groups with constituents suggest the following:

• Fruit and vegetable carts were relied on as a frequent shopping option;
•  Knowing about Green Carts increased the likelihood of usage and location played a critical role in consumer usage;
• Once consumers purchased from a Green Cart, they were likely to do so repeatedly; and
• Consumers rated the quality and variety of fruits and vegetables offered on the carts as good to excellent.

Highlights of findings from street interviews of Green Cart vendors, cart assessments, and a focus group with Green Cart vendors suggest the following:

• Green Cart vendors placed their carts in a wide variety of locations, operated more than five days a week at their chosen locations, and offered a wide range of produce and price points;
• Green Carts reached targeted populations, and vendors expressed interest in efforts to increase Green Cart usage by poor and working poor consumers; and
• Most vendors reported a strong willingness to continue their self-employment via Green Carts.

The next round of Green Cart permitting, scheduled for October 2010, presents the City with an opportunity to strengthen this initiative. CCC’s recommendations draw attention to improvements that would ensure that poor and working poor New Yorkers are able to make full use of Green Carts and that Green Cart vendors have the opportunity to serve low-income communities year round while benefiting from relationships with or linkages to public agencies and community-based organizations (CBOs).

Highlights of recommendations that CCC believes the City should pursue include the following:

• Ensure that all Green Carts have access to EBT terminals so they can accept food stamp (SNAP) benefits as well as WIC allotments;
• Facilitate the placement of Green Carts in close proximity to CBOs and allow for CBO cart adoption or sponsorship;
• Encourage the targeted placement of Green Carts on public property, such as NYCHA facilities, Public Hospitals, Child Health Centers;
• Explore the feasibility of allowing Green Carts to locate in sheltered spaces on public property or at CBOs during the winter months;
• Expand public marketing of Green Carts;
• Create a clearly written list of rules governing Green Cart positioning and regulations, to be posted directly on vendors’ carts; and
• Enhance technical assistance to Green Cart vendors to improve their capacity to make direct use of the Hunts Point Terminal Market and facilitate their ability to purchase bulk produce for distribution across several carts.

In sum, preliminary data collected on Green Carts usage in the fist year of implementation suggests that Green Carts are increasing access to and consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables in low-income neighborhoods, that the initiative functions as a powerful tool in New York City’s efforts to combat obesity and poor nutrition, and that Green Cart vendors have expressed their commitment to self employment via Green Carts. As the City prepares for its next round of Green Cart permit issuance and the number of Green Carts placed in targeted communities increases, we hope that the findings and recommendations put forth in this report can inform efforts to strengthen and expand upon the initiative.