In East Harlem: Of course I’m worried. Lots of kids here are very overweight.
Maria Ortega, an 8-year-old with long brown hair and inquisitive eyes, peered through the doors of Mexican Grocery Products, an East Harlem bodega near the corner of 115th Street and Third Ave.
Her 23-year-old mother, Carolina Ortega, emerged from behind the counter. The shelves were lined with junk food—Cheetos, Snickers and TapaTío hot sauce.
Ortega, a bodega employee, knows what it is like to grow up eating processed foods. The lifelong East Harlem resident said the neighborhood is not a healthy place to raise children.
“Of course I’m worried,” she said. “Lots of kids here are very overweight.”
Her 4-year-old nephew is already obese. Ortega has been trying to control Maria’s weight. But like other children in the neighborhood, she always asks for junk food.
“I don’t let her eat them. I want her to be healthy, but she goes straight for candy and McDonalds,” she said.
The City of New York has validated Ortega’s fears. East Harlem, known in Spanish as El Barrio, is a “food desert”, an area where residents have limited access to fresh products. A report released in May 2007 by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene concluded that East Harlem’s high rates of obesity and diabetes could be traced to the predominance of fast food restaurants and bodegas. Bodegas are small convenience stores that don’t have the resources to stock many vegetables. Yet, they are the main food source for East Harlem’s predominantly Hispanic population. Two out of every three stores in the area is a bodega. The Health Department launched a Healthy Bodegas Initiative that placed fruits and vegetables in bodegas. But some local advocacy groups argue that attitude is as important as access. Children like Maria need to be taught to appreciate fresh food.
Angela Davis, a community food advocate, has worked with city children who eat ketchup or spaghetti sauce and don’t know what a tomato looks like. Her organization, Just Food, seeks to encourage low-income communities to reexamine their food choices.
“It’s not just about eating vegetables. It’s about quality. That’s why variety is important,” Davis said in a phone interview.
The health department sent bodegas free vegetables and customer discount coupons. But sustained change is hard to enact.
Kamal Hanna, the 69-year-old manager of Deli & Grocery, on 116th Street. and Lexington Avenue, started selling vegetables as part of the Healthy Bodega Initiative. But he’s stopped since December.
“There’s no space here. I can’t afford it anymore,” he said.
Nelson Ali, owner of Grocery & Deli on Park Avenue near 115th Street, said his young customers usually buy candy. Still, he makes sure to stock apples, oranges, bananas.
“We have them delivered three times a week. We’re hanging on,” he said.
But his fruits and vegetables are crowded into the corners of the store, next to laundry detergent and ice pops.
Davis said: “if they don’t look good, people won’t buy them. So owners are eventually not going to invest in fresh foods. It’s a vicious cycle.”
Ali, Hanna and Ortega said their vegetables were purchased from local dealers. But they are unsure of where the dealers obtained the produce. Food advocates seek to create a system that connects consumers to producers.
“Right after they’re picked, food starts losing its nutritional value,” said Davis. “More than looking for organic, we need to focus on eating locally.”
Michael Hurwitz, director of Greenmarket, a non-profit that schedules New York City’s farmers markets, used the term “locavore” to describe someone who shops at local food stands. He emphasized the importance of eating fresh and “knowing your farmer.”
“Large, immigrant communities come from countries where they’re two steps away from agriculture,” he said at a panel at the Museum of the City of New York. “So it’s hard when parents come to this city.”
“When [immigrants] come here, they’re working two, three jobs just to survive. So it’s hard for them to monitor what their kids are eating,” Davis said.
Fourteen-year-old Allison McBride’s mom tries to make her eat vegetables with every meal. But she said she’d much rather eat candy from a bodega.
“No salads. No seafood. I don’t like them. I eat more junk food than vegetables every day,” she said.
Access is vital, but Hurwitz and Davis agree that a change in lifestyles is equally necessary. Part of the battle is getting children to participate.
Yuri Asano, member of Slow Food USA, founded Harvest Time in Harlem, an educational food workshop for school children. She believes children should get involved with what they’re eating. During the school year, students in El Barrio participate in a cooking program. The children also help sell vegetables at a neighborhood farm stand.
“We help them understand that food is supposed to taste good. It’s not the enemy. We don’t tell them what they can’t eat. Instead, we teach them portion control and moderation,” she said.
Asano is already seeing results.
“Some of the children, after school, they’d usually go to a corner bodega to get a snack. But now, they’ll come down and buy an apple,” she said.
This change in lifestyle doesn’t come without a cost. Supermarkets offer variety, but they’re expensive. Davis Garcia, an army veteran and 10-year resident of East Harlem, said that the local Associated Supermarket is “overpriced”. He only shops there when he needs something quickly.
“I’m lucky because I can go to Brooklyn for cheap groceries. I know a lot of our residents just don’t have the ability to travel for groceries,” he said.
And because of the recession, Davis said that supermarkets are closing. Ortega said that prices at bodegas are rising, as well.
Hurwitz said that prices at farmers’ markets are comparable, if not better than those at bodegas. To ensure that lower-income households can afford healthy food, seven Manhattan markets, including one at Harlem Hospital on 135th Street, accept food stamps.
“Bodegas have poor quality. So eating locally gives you more value, variety, and a longer shelf life,” he said.
However, variety and freshness is not always guaranteed. Markets only offer local produce that is in season. During the winter, farmers sell frozen food from storage.
Still, Asano said eating locally has significant benefits. “The New York growing season is not that long, it’s true. But when you do purchase locally, you’re cutting down on the pollution that comes from transporting food, you’re supporting the local economy, you’re giving back the trust and knowledge of who’s growing your food and how,” she said. “Families should consider the cost benefits.”
Dan Barber, the third-generation owner of Massachusetts’ Blue Hill Farm, said this is an “issue of choices.”
“It’s about prioritizing your disposable income,” he said at the panel. “Years ago, people thought that no one would pay for cable TV or cell phones. If we can create a context that prioritizes good, healthy food, people’s opinions will change.”
In East Harlem: Of course I’m worried. Lots of kids here are very overweight.
Maria Ortega, an 8-year-old with long brown hair and inquisitive eyes, peered through the doors of Mexican Grocery Products, an East Harlem bodega near the corner of 115th Street and Third Ave.
Her 23-year-old mother, Carolina Ortega, emerged from behind the counter. The shelves were lined with junk food—Cheetos, Snickers and TapaTío hot sauce.
Ortega, a bodega employee, knows what it is like to grow up eating processed foods. The lifelong East Harlem resident said the neighborhood is not a healthy place to raise children.
“Of course I’m worried,” she said. “Lots of kids here are very overweight.”
Her 4-year-old nephew is already obese. Ortega has been trying to control Maria’s weight. But like other children in the neighborhood, she always asks for junk food.
“I don’t let her eat them. I want her to be healthy, but she goes straight for candy and McDonalds,” she said.
The City of New York has validated Ortega’s fears. East Harlem, known in Spanish as El Barrio, is a “food desert”, an area where residents have limited access to fresh products. A report released in May 2007 by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene concluded that East Harlem’s high rates of obesity and diabetes could be traced to the predominance of fast food restaurants and bodegas. Bodegas are small convenience stores that don’t have the resources to stock many vegetables. Yet, they are the main food source for East Harlem’s predominantly Hispanic population. Two out of every three stores in the area is a bodega. The Health Department launched a Healthy Bodegas Initiative that placed fruits and vegetables in bodegas. But some local advocacy groups argue that attitude is as important as access. Children like Maria need to be taught to appreciate fresh food.
Angela Davis, a community food advocate, has worked with city children who eat ketchup or spaghetti sauce and don’t know what a tomato looks like. Her organization, Just Food, seeks to encourage low-income communities to reexamine their food choices.
“It’s not just about eating vegetables. It’s about quality. That’s why variety is important,” Davis said in a phone interview.
The health department sent bodegas free vegetables and customer discount coupons. But sustained change is hard to enact.
Kamal Hanna, the 69-year-old manager of Deli & Grocery, on 116th Street. and Lexington Avenue, started selling vegetables as part of the Healthy Bodega Initiative. But he’s stopped since December.
“There’s no space here. I can’t afford it anymore,” he said.
Nelson Ali, owner of Grocery & Deli on Park Avenue near 115th Street, said his young customers usually buy candy. Still, he makes sure to stock apples, oranges, bananas.
“We have them delivered three times a week. We’re hanging on,” he said.
But his fruits and vegetables are crowded into the corners of the store, next to laundry detergent and ice pops.
Davis said: “if they don’t look good, people won’t buy them. So owners are eventually not going to invest in fresh foods. It’s a vicious cycle.”
Ali, Hanna and Ortega said their vegetables were purchased from local dealers. But they are unsure of where the dealers obtained the produce. Food advocates seek to create a system that connects consumers to producers.
“Right after they’re picked, food starts losing its nutritional value,” said Davis. “More than looking for organic, we need to focus on eating locally.”
Michael Hurwitz, director of Greenmarket, a non-profit that schedules New York City’s farmers markets, used the term “locavore” to describe someone who shops at local food stands. He emphasized the importance of eating fresh and “knowing your farmer.”
“Large, immigrant communities come from countries where they’re two steps away from agriculture,” he said at a panel at the Museum of the City of New York. “So it’s hard when parents come to this city.”
“When [immigrants] come here, they’re working two, three jobs just to survive. So it’s hard for them to monitor what their kids are eating,” Davis said.
Fourteen-year-old Allison McBride’s mom tries to make her eat vegetables with every meal. But she said she’d much rather eat candy from a bodega.
“No salads. No seafood. I don’t like them. I eat more junk food than vegetables every day,” she said.
Access is vital, but Hurwitz and Davis agree that a change in lifestyles is equally necessary. Part of the battle is getting children to participate.
Yuri Asano, member of Slow Food USA, founded Harvest Time in Harlem, an educational food workshop for school children. She believes children should get involved with what they’re eating. During the school year, students in El Barrio participate in a cooking program. The children also help sell vegetables at a neighborhood farm stand.
“We help them understand that food is supposed to taste good. It’s not the enemy. We don’t tell them what they can’t eat. Instead, we teach them portion control and moderation,” she said.
Asano is already seeing results.
“Some of the children, after school, they’d usually go to a corner bodega to get a snack. But now, they’ll come down and buy an apple,” she said.
This change in lifestyle doesn’t come without a cost. Supermarkets offer variety, but they’re expensive. Davis Garcia, an army veteran and 10-year resident of East Harlem, said that the local Associated Supermarket is “overpriced”. He only shops there when he needs something quickly.
“I’m lucky because I can go to Brooklyn for cheap groceries. I know a lot of our residents just don’t have the ability to travel for groceries,” he said.
And because of the recession, Davis said that supermarkets are closing. Ortega said that prices at bodegas are rising, as well.
Hurwitz said that prices at farmers’ markets are comparable, if not better than those at bodegas. To ensure that lower-income households can afford healthy food, seven Manhattan markets, including one at Harlem Hospital on 135th Street, accept food stamps.
“Bodegas have poor quality. So eating locally gives you more value, variety, and a longer shelf life,” he said.
However, variety and freshness is not always guaranteed. Markets only offer local produce that is in season. During the winter, farmers sell frozen food from storage.
Still, Asano said eating locally has significant benefits. “The New York growing season is not that long, it’s true. But when you do purchase locally, you’re cutting down on the pollution that comes from transporting food, you’re supporting the local economy, you’re giving back the trust and knowledge of who’s growing your food and how,” she said. “Families should consider the cost benefits.”
Dan Barber, the third-generation owner of Massachusetts’ Blue Hill Farm, said this is an “issue of choices.”
“It’s about prioritizing your disposable income,” he said at the panel. “Years ago, people thought that no one would pay for cable TV or cell phones. If we can create a context that prioritizes good, healthy food, people’s opinions will change.”
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