A New Neighborhood Farmer's Market
Across the street from a sandwich shop and a fried chicken joint, a greenmarket sprouts up every Wednesday in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx in New York City. The market is a welcome sight in an area that does not have many options for people to buy fresh fruit and vegetables.
“The lettuce is not as fresh at the grocery store; that’s why I come here,” said Jennifer Gillette as she paid for four heads of lettuce. Gillette is a vegetarian who lives in the neighborhood.
Mott Haven, a neighborhood in the South Bronx, is located in one of the poorest areas in the country. In other New York City neighborhoods greenmarkets are more common, but in the South Bronx there are not many places to buy healthy, organic food.
The summer of 2012 was the first time that the Youthmarket set up shop in this section of the Bronx, on 3rd Ave. between E. 148th and E. 149th Streets. The Youthmarket is part of a larger organization called GrowNYC, which helps make neighborhoods better by setting up farmers markets, community gardens, and recycling in the city.
Since opening in July 2012, the market has attracted a lot of attention from local residents who live in the area. Many people are excited that there is now a fresh produce market nearby.
When the wind shifts, the smell of cilantro floats across the sidewalk, calling attention to the bright red radishes, purple potatoes, and juicy plums. At the market you can also buy red and green peppers, mushrooms, squash, and apples. The food comes from nearby farms just outside the city limits.
There is one whole table just for corn, which people buy in bulk, sometimes 10 or 15 ears at a time. Corn is the most popular item. The market sells 400 to 500 pounds of produce each Wednesday.
Ryan Morningstar, who helps run the Youthmarket, said that about 12 to 18 percent of the money they make comes from government assistance like food stamps. Food stamps help people buy food if they can’t afford it themselves. On its opening day, the market made $216.50 from food stamps alone, a record high for GrowNYC Youthmarkets across the city. The Mott Haven market makes a total of around $700 a week.
“When you bring in fresh food, people want it,” said Morningstar.
The market also accepts other government food assistance, such as the Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program, which allows low-income residents to get “fresh, unprepared, locally grown fruits and vegetables,” explains the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Services website.
Greysie Johnson’s four-year-old daughter loves apples and bananas, but until recently Johnson wasn’t using her government checks because she didn’t know what they were for. She said that she started getting the checks in the mail, but since she didn’t know what they were she didn’t use them.
Then she found out that the checks were like free coupons for her to buy fresh fruit and vegetables. She learned that once her daughter turns five years old, she will stop getting the checks. Johnson didn’t want the money to go to waste, so she started using the checks to buy fresh vegetables and fruit for her daughter.
“It’s an easier way to give her what she wants,” said Johnson. When the checks stop coming, though, she said she will go back to shopping at grocery stores, where the vegetables and fruit are not as fresh and healthy.
Delphia Omborura, a hair stylist who works in the area, loves to shop at the farmers market in Mott Haven. On a Wednesday afternoon last September she bought four bushels of large red beets to juice in a blender at home. She said that beets are more expensive in a regular grocery store. Omborura had a water bottle filled with homemade beet juice in her purse.
Mamie Jackson also likes going to the farmers market. She said that she likes the fresh look of the produce at the market, which looks different from what the grocery stores sell.
“I’d rather wash the dirt off a cucumber,” she said. “The ones at the grocery store are sprayed with a lot of stuff to make them look shiny.”
“The lettuce is not as fresh at the grocery store; that’s why I come here,” said Jennifer Gillette as she paid for four heads of lettuce. Gillette is a vegetarian who lives in the neighborhood.
Mott Haven, a neighborhood in the South Bronx, is located in one of the poorest areas in the country. In other New York City neighborhoods greenmarkets are more common, but in the South Bronx there are not many places to buy healthy, organic food.
The summer of 2012 was the first time that the Youthmarket set up shop in this section of the Bronx, on 3rd Ave. between E. 148th and E. 149th Streets. The Youthmarket is part of a larger organization called GrowNYC, which helps make neighborhoods better by setting up farmers markets, community gardens, and recycling in the city.
Since opening in July 2012, the market has attracted a lot of attention from local residents who live in the area. Many people are excited that there is now a fresh produce market nearby.
When the wind shifts, the smell of cilantro floats across the sidewalk, calling attention to the bright red radishes, purple potatoes, and juicy plums. At the market you can also buy red and green peppers, mushrooms, squash, and apples. The food comes from nearby farms just outside the city limits.
There is one whole table just for corn, which people buy in bulk, sometimes 10 or 15 ears at a time. Corn is the most popular item. The market sells 400 to 500 pounds of produce each Wednesday.
Ryan Morningstar, who helps run the Youthmarket, said that about 12 to 18 percent of the money they make comes from government assistance like food stamps. Food stamps help people buy food if they can’t afford it themselves. On its opening day, the market made $216.50 from food stamps alone, a record high for GrowNYC Youthmarkets across the city. The Mott Haven market makes a total of around $700 a week.
“When you bring in fresh food, people want it,” said Morningstar.
The market also accepts other government food assistance, such as the Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program, which allows low-income residents to get “fresh, unprepared, locally grown fruits and vegetables,” explains the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Services website.
Greysie Johnson’s four-year-old daughter loves apples and bananas, but until recently Johnson wasn’t using her government checks because she didn’t know what they were for. She said that she started getting the checks in the mail, but since she didn’t know what they were she didn’t use them.
Then she found out that the checks were like free coupons for her to buy fresh fruit and vegetables. She learned that once her daughter turns five years old, she will stop getting the checks. Johnson didn’t want the money to go to waste, so she started using the checks to buy fresh vegetables and fruit for her daughter.
“It’s an easier way to give her what she wants,” said Johnson. When the checks stop coming, though, she said she will go back to shopping at grocery stores, where the vegetables and fruit are not as fresh and healthy.
Delphia Omborura, a hair stylist who works in the area, loves to shop at the farmers market in Mott Haven. On a Wednesday afternoon last September she bought four bushels of large red beets to juice in a blender at home. She said that beets are more expensive in a regular grocery store. Omborura had a water bottle filled with homemade beet juice in her purse.
Mamie Jackson also likes going to the farmers market. She said that she likes the fresh look of the produce at the market, which looks different from what the grocery stores sell.
“I’d rather wash the dirt off a cucumber,” she said. “The ones at the grocery store are sprayed with a lot of stuff to make them look shiny.”
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