7/18/2012
By Ivan Pereira
The city is pushing supermarkets and grocery stores to help New Yorkers eat healthier by placing fruit and veggies right at their front doors.
The Department of Health unveiled Wednesday a pilot program in 80 food stores in Fordham and West Farms sections of the Bronx.
As part of the “Shop Healthy NYC” store owners will voluntarily agree to stock cheaper fruits and vegetables in entryways of the stores to encourage families to buy healthier foods, “We believe if we are going to battle obesity, we need to tackle it at different fronts,” according to Deputy Mayor Linda Gibbs.
Health Commissioner Thomas Farley said he had chosen the two communities for the pilot because surveys show that 70% of the 136,000 residents there are overweight.
“They identified to us they needed more access to healthier foods,” he said.
Farley and Gibbs said they aim to expand the program, which gives store owners marketing tools such as shelf hangers and free-standing baskets, to hold the fruits and vegetables.
The city is also distributing booklets to low-income families that show them how to make cheap, healthier recipes and provide nutritional tips.
