Green Carts Used to Introduce Healthy Living in New York
February 29, 2008
(Long Island, N.Y.) New York City Council voted favorably on Wednesday in issuing over a thousand business permits to mobile vendors selling fresh produce such as fruits and vegetables in low-income neighborhoods over the next six months in its latest effort to reduce obesity and health problems in New York due to poor nutrition.
“The communities in our city where obesity and diabetes continue to skyrocket are the same communities that lack even the most basic access to fresh fruits and vegetables,” said City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.
A recent study conducted by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene found that over 3.2 Million New Yorkers are obese or overweight and two-thirds of that figure are in denial of their current condition.
“Obesity poses one of our most serious health risks,” said DOHMH Commissioner Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH. “In some New York City neighborhoods, more than one in four people is obese. The toll on personal health is enormous. Most obese and overweight people describe unhealthy eating habits and report poorer health than other City residents. Understanding one’s weight is an important first step in reducing health risks.
The City council believes that by incorporating mobile fruits and vegetable stands throughout the city, New Yorkers are given better chances of choosing between healthy eating and buying convenient packaged and processed foods that generally contain maximal amount of grease and calories. Currently there are over 4,000 mobile vendors with business permits from the City council most of which are stationed in highly prominent locations such as in Manhattan and other high scale neighborhoods.
Since 2002, the city council in cooperation with the DOHMH has promoted clean living among New Yorkers by launching several initiatives such as the “Helping Children Reach a Healthy Weight Program” which included distributing over 600,000 free materials for good health to public schools and private institutions.
Posted by News LI Editor · Edited by Brianna - Filed Under Health
Have a press release or local story you would like us to review? Let us know about it!
| You can easily bookmark this page by clicking here: |
|
News Comments
One Response to “Green Carts Used to Introduce Healthy Living in New York”
Got something to say?
[…] The NYC city council voted in favor of the placement of so-called “green carts”, a healthy version of the ubiquitous mobile vending food carts unique to that city. Citing the fact that low income neighborhoods are generally lacking in access to outlets where more healthful fare is sold, the council along with the NY State Dept. of Health & Mental Hygiene believe that this step is a positive one in which “the communities in [NYC] where obesity and diabetes continue to skyrocket are the same communities that lack even the most basic access to fresh fruits and vegetables”. | LINK […]
- Posted by: DOCTOR PUNDIT » NYC City Council Votes to Adopt the Use of Green Carts for the Promotion of Preventive Healthcare